


Rush Me All Night Long

by Samirant



Series: Fast Times At Westeros University [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 1000 Words or Less, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Drama snuck in, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Fraternities & Sororities, Greek life can be shady, Heed Chapter Warnings, Navel-Gazing, Tywin Lannister's A+ Parenting, mind the dates, pretentious author self-challenge, this fic does not believe in a coherent timeline, unironically and horrifyingly so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 58,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24140989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samirant/pseuds/Samirant
Summary: Fraternities, Sororities and Relationship Chicken
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: Fast Times At Westeros University [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763917
Comments: 2231
Kudos: 784





	1. Day 381

**Author's Note:**

> This is so Americanized and self-indulgent, feel free to back out at any time. This fic is rooted in the following self-challenge: 
> 
> 1) Write less than 1000 words per chapter  
> 2) Write in less than one hour  
> 3) Minimal fiddling and fretting before posting.
> 
>  _claps off hands_
> 
> Like I said, you can run for the exit at any time - I might beat you there.

Day 381

Jaime Lannister hadn’t even gotten to hit the snooze button and his phone was already insistently ringing. 

Groaning, he rolled over and reached past his bedmate to retrieve the infernal device. He sighed when it showed a photo of Cersei hunched into a deck chair, arms crossed and mouth set in a fierce pout. It was Tyrion’s work - from irritating her and taking the photo to then setting it up in Jaime’s phone. 

Jaime _could_ change it, but he didn’t think he’d ever find another picture that more suited his sister’s unparalleled joie de vivre. 

“It’s not even seven, Cersei,” Jaime groused. He didn’t even have to look at the clock to know, the window afforded him a glimpse of a dark night only barely allowing dawn to get a foothold. The house around him was dead silent, indicating that the normally rowdy crowd of gentlemen that lived there was likely sleeping off the previous night’s libations. “I set my first class at ten exactly so I don’t have to wake up this early.”

“Have you seen it?” Like Jaime, Cersei cared little for polite greetings but someone had definitely pissed in her Cheerios, considering how furious she sounded. “This is going to _ruin_ me.”

“Can it ruin you later? I had a late night.” Boy, did he. 

“They know! I don’t know who, but someone has broken the sacred trust of sisterhood, Jaime. _Sisterhood.”_

Jaime briefly considered offing himself in order to be spared Cersei’s latest tantrum. He only lived on the second floor, so a leap out the window would probably only break a bone. Suffocating himself with a pillow was another option, but it was currently trapped under someone else. 

Unable to find an escape, he dully asked, “What did they find out, Cersei?”

“ _Everything_ , are you not listening to me? The way we cultivate our pledges” - by researching their parents’ net worth, Jaime was aware - “and how we screen them for unsavory connections” - bullying unacceptable boyfriends via social media until they caved and broke it off for more suitable fare - “and our _rush traditions_.”

Jaime winced. “Cersei, please tell me you didn’t do the same as last year-”

“Of course I did! Did you think I was going to listen to some dried up banshee? I am a _Lannister_ and we do not answer to anyone.”

“She’s the Dean of Admissions-”

“More like Cunt of the Campus-”

“They already heard enough rumors about hazing that’s gone too far, why in the world did you think you’d get away with it this time?”

“I’m sorry, was I to expect that someone would infiltrate my rush and then send a fucking school-wide email with all of our closely guarded secrets?” Cersei’s voice got higher as she went on. “I’ve already gotten a phone call from that dusty old bitch and you know she put her granddaughter up to this.”

Jaime rolled his eyes. “I can tell you for a fact that Margery was with the rest of her group at our joint mixer last night.”

“I can’t believe you made them your sister sorority,” Cersei grumbled, immediately diverted. “You’re Lan Sigma, I’m Lan Kappa, _we_ should be paired up.”

“And we were, until you decided two years ago to partner with Targ Alpha and look how well that turned out,” Jaime reminded her. He hadn’t been president then, but his brothers couldn’t forget the betrayal of Lan Kappa leaving them behind. They’d gone sisterless for a year. 

“How was I to know that Rhaegar would drop out to chase after that little Stark tart?” Cersei sniffed derisively but her tone immediately turned cajoling and Jaime knew exactly what she was going to ask next. “You don’t really believe that Lan Sigma and Theta Rho Nu are on the same level, do you? It’s still early, you can let them go and we can bring the Lans back together, as they should be.”

Glancing once again to the side, Jaime said, “I don’t know, I’m pretty happy with the Thorns. Margaery’s a good leader and our members get along well.”

“I bet they do,” Cersei hissed. “They let anyone pledge, it’s disgusting. Have you seen who their vice-president is this year? That absolute cow, Tarth. She never would have made it into Lan Kappa, not ever.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing she didn’t pledge for you.”

“They must be desperate to pick the likes of her. Gods, half the reason a man goes into a fraternity is so he can meet sorority girls, I pity the boys in your house that get paired up with her.”

“Truly a horror,” Jaime said dryly.

Cersei’s diatribe was interrupted by the blaring alarm clock and Jaime poked at the woman beside him. “Did you seriously set my alarm? At, what the fuck, _six-forty-five_?”

She only grumbled and hid under the pillow he’d been unable to steal earlier.

“Is someone there?” Cersei asked, sounding amused and disgusted all at once. “Already? Gods, Jaime, it’s a little early to be bedding a pledge, isn’t it?”

“Not that early,” Jaime said lightly. Peering toward the still dim sunlight, he mutinously added, “At least for some sane people around here.”

His sister clearly couldn’t resist asking, “So who is it?”

Jaime considered it, weighed it and finally said, “Brienne Tarth.”

Cersei’s laugh was loud and heckling. “Good one, Jaime.”

“Good luck with the Great Rose,” Jaime needled at her, pleased to hear her sharp gasp of fury just as he hung up. He reached out and poked at Brienne. “Seriously, my alarm?”

“I have class,” Brienne replied, her voice muffled against the mattress.

“Not last night you didn’t,” Jaime mused happily and got a pillow to his face for his troubles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a mostly light-hearted fic, but there’s a dark side to Greek/Valyrian life. Please heed the occasional chapter warnings, though all references will remain non-explicit.


	2. Day 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess I should say I'm going for the full trope and the title of this fic is a play on AC/DC's Shook Me All Night Long. Listen to it [here](https://youtu.be/PAvZ__zwiyM)

Day 72

“You guys look for kindling over there, Tarth and I will go this way.”

“Shouldn’t we stick together?” For a quiet pledge, Podrick Payne chose an inopportune time to speak up, but Jaime was already leaving him, Elinor and Jeyne behind. “Jaime?”

“You’ll be fine,” Jaime called over his shoulder.

He could barely hear Pod’s panicky _I’ve never been in the woods before!_ over Brienne’s “Will you let go?”

“Yeah, sure, just a sec.” Jaime glanced around and decided that they were clear enough of the campsite for him to say, “So, hey, how have you been?”

Brienne stared at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“We should go back,” she said. Slowly, as if she wasn’t sure he could compute words longer than a single syllable. 

“If they’re dim enough to manage to get lost fifty feet from everyone else, it’s probably for the best that we find out now. Cut our losses, you know?” Jaime planted his hands on his hips and stood straighter. “So, I, uh, I called you.”

Brienne’s eyes went big, her expression obviously flustered, but she didn’t say anything in return.

“And texted,” Jaime prompted. 

“I know,” Brienne admitted in a low tone. 

“I mean, Halloween. Pretty interesting night.” Jaime could see that his line of inquiry was getting him nowhere, but the longer Brienne stood there, mouth agape and a blush infusing her cheeks, the more it seemed impossible to find the right words. “Look, it’s not like me to chase after someone after we hook up-”

“We did not hook up,” Brienne whispered fiercely. Her big blue eyes scoured the woods around them, as if she expected someone to jump out, screaming _gotcha!_ “We didn’t. Don’t call it that.”

Jaime wiggled his hand in the air. “It’s kind of an all-encompassing kind of term-”

“I was drunk,” Brienne interrupted him again. “ _You_ were drunk.”

“I was tipsy, if that,” Jaime denied. “And you downed maybe half a white wine spritzer, you can’t tell me that a girl like you gets wasted off cheap, watered down pinot.”

“A girl like me?” Brienne asked, sailing past ruffled to downright angry. “What the hells does that mean?”

“Well, you know.” Jaime waved at her general person.

Brienne looked revolted and pushed past him. “We’re done here.”

“Wait, no, Brienne, come on.” Jaime chased after - damn it, why was he always fucking chasing this girl, a fucking _pledge_ for the Thorns, what had happened to his damn pride? - darting around to stop in front of her so she couldn’t pass. “I meant it in a good way.”

“A good way,” Brienne replied in a flat tone. 

“What other way would I mean?” Jaime reached up, scratching at the back of his head. He had it on good authority that it would ride his shirt just high enough to catch someone’s attention. He had plenty of moves, but this was a solid one.

Brienne ignored it entirely, choosing to instead glare straight at his face. 

“Are you seriously telling me that you didn’t have fun?” It exploded out of Jaime’s mouth and he flung his hands out. “That you don’t want to do it again?”

“I-” Brienne looked away, her jaw tightening into a mulish frown. Gods help him, he still liked the look of it. What _was_ it with this girl? “Jaime, it was… it was what it was and I don’t- I have enough on my plate, okay? I just transferred in and now I’m pledging and it’s so much more involved than I expected and I’m still settling in and there’s always these dinners and teas and mixers and now godsdamned camping with your frat when I should be studying instead and _I don’t have time for this, okay_?”

It was the longest collection of words she’d thrown his way and Jaime had to take a moment to sort through the tangle of them. Once he did, a pleased smile slid across his face and he took a small step closer.

“What are you doing?” Brienne asked warily.

“You didn’t say that you didn’t want to do it again,” Jaime informed her.

Brienne worked her mouth open and shut as she thought back over her declaration. “Well, that goes without saying.”

“No,” Jaime chuckled lightly. “You literally didn’t say it.”

“Then, fine-”

She stopped when he leaned forward - cautiously, hopefully - her eyes wide and mouth temptingly parted open. Jaime watched her eyes flutter shut as he came closer and then her mouth was soft against his and her hands gripped onto his arms when he wrapped them around her waist.

Jaime drifted back just far enough to say, “See?”

“Insufferable,” Brienne muttered and Jaime grinned. 

“You’re busy, I’m busy, that’s fine,” Jaime conceded. “Just answer your phone, will you?”

“I don’t answer to you, Jaime Lannister.”

“Your loss.” Jaime tried to sound carefree and wasn’t quite sure he hit it. “But what would you do, if tonight I happened to be passing by your tent, just happened to go inside and just happened-”

Brienne shoved him back. “You better stop right there, because I know you’re trying to sound… whatever, but it’s only coming out creepy.”

Jaime frowned thoughtfully. “Good note.” He let Brienne take one step to the side and dropped to one knee, holding one of her hands between his, and grandly announcing, “My dear lady, I pray beg you forgive my forwardness, but if I were to approach you this eve, over yonder, would you grant me entrance to your lady-”

“Good gods, you’re an idiot,” Brienne groaned and left him behind, kneeling on the - he now realized - wet grass that was seeping into his jeans. 

He was still there, trying to figure out what to do next when Bronn broke through the brush and said, “There you are, we’ve got some hysterical freshers over here, weren’t you supposed to be with them?” and then “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Um,” Jaime looked around and found nothing to help him. “Foraging?”


	3. Day 7

Day 7 

The later the evening became, the more certain Brienne was that she’d gotten it all wrong. The disappointment surprisingly stung. 

Taena had been fetched more than an hour before. Cersei Lannister had shown up at their dorm with an embellished invitation in hand and a warm smile on her face. A silent girl with red hair stood behind her with a small stack of invitations, each of them obviously ready to be parsed out to the chosen few. Taena could barely contain her elation and left without even a polite nod, eagerly following after the Lan Kappa president. Brienne wasn’t bothered so much by that; after only a few days as roommates they’d silently agreed on mutual wariness and a wide berth. 

Still, Brienne watched Cersei excitedly take her newest pledge under her wing. The red-headed girl trailed behind without a word, though she did throw a brief, curious glance in Brienne’s direction.

Time passed and Brienne worried at her thumb, refusing the temptation to look out the window or into the hallway. It was a long shot, she’d known all along, perhaps they knew it wasn’t really her thing-

There was a knock at the door. 

Brienne took a shuddering breath and opened it, relieved and anxious to find Margaery Tyrell on the other side. Vice-president of Theta Rho Nu, campus sweetheart and confident in every measure; Brienne couldn’t understand why she was there, standing at _Brienne’s_ door when there were so many other possible recruits.

Margaery held nothing in her hands, but her smile was gentle and far more genuine than Cersei’s. She said nothing except, “Walk with me.”

They meandered in the direction of Sorority Row, the road that held a stretch of grand houses that provided shelter to exuberant, civic-minded, pink-cheeked and perfectly coiffed young women. Brienne had asked to be invited in and she was terrified that, for some insane reason, they would say _yes._

Margaery turned on the street before the Row, leading Brienne into an unruly neighborhood. A multitude of young men stood in front of separate houses, differentiating themselves with brightly colored shirts with frat letters proudly exhibited. They seemed to be gathering in like-minded groups and heading to the middle of the road, thru traffic be damned. 

“I always like this,” Margaery said in a teasing tone, leaning toward her. “It’s as if they’re aware they _could_ encourage harmony by binding together, but they can’t resist antagonizing each other anyway.”

A group of young men in black shirts joined together first and, as one, bellowed, “Winter Is Coming!”

“Dire Omega,” Margaery informed her.

Another group - in yellow - joined ranks, screaming, “Ours Is The Fury!”

“Bar Epsilon, though they want to be known as the Storm Lords.” Margaery sniggered as they continued to shout at one another, getting louder and louder. “That’s not happening.”

By some unwritten rule, Dire Omega came out triumphant and the men in yellow dispersed, letting a group in blue start with, “Family! Duty! Honor!”

“Did I-” Brienne faltered. “Why are we here?”

“I argued for you and I wanted to touch base before we go to the house,” Margaery replied. “I’ll be honest, my president didn’t see how you’d make a good fit for the Thorns. And really, it didn’t look like you actually wanted to be there all of recruitment week.”

Brienne bit her lip and didn’t reply.

“Do you even want to be a Thorn?” 

“I…” Brienne stared at the ground. “I don’t...”

“You don’t want? You don’t know? You don’t care?”

“I don’t want to be who I was in high school,” Brienne blurted out. “And… I made a promise.”

Margaery raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

“To- to my dad,” Brienne said lamely. “To try… to try to make friends. Someone told me to try a sorority, even if I don’t- I don’t look the part.”

“You look as you’re supposed to,” Margaery said simply. “I just want to know that if I sponsor you, that I’m not wasting my time.”

They fell silent, the loud voices screaming “Winter Is Coming!” winning out yet again. A group of guys in red, looking puffed up and smug came up against the ones in black. 

“That’s our brother frat, Lan Sigma. They are… well, you’ll see.”

There was a young man in front, blond and smirking at their opposition and far too familiar to Brienne. Her stomach sank as he led, “Hear Me Roar!”

“Jaime.” Margaery shook her head, amused. 

“I met him,” Brienne said faintly.

Her embarrassment was plain, it had to be, because Margaery remarked, “And he made an impression, I see. Typical.”

“No, not like, he’s just.” Brienne stumbled over it. “It didn’t go well?”

“His fault, probably,” Margaery said airily. 

“Winter Is Coming!”

“Hear Me Roar!”

“Winter Is Coming!” 

“Hear Me Roar!”

Margaery snickered under her breath when several of the Lan Sigmas elbowed one another. 

“Winter Is Coming!” 

“So’s Your Mom!”

The confusion was immediate; the Dire Omegas stuttered to a stop, wide eyed and shocked as Jaime and his crew devolved into laughter. Margaery joined them, bending forward and slapping her knee. 

“Gods, I knew we chose well,” she tittered. 

“That’s terrible,” Brienne gasped even as the Lans stifled their hysterics for one last “Hear Me Roar!” and then cheered their victory. 

“You do what you have to, to win,” Margaery disagreed. “And they won.”

She waved towards them and those who saw her waved back. Jaime looked in their direction for the first time, waved and then visibly startled when he saw Brienne at Margaery’s side.

Margaery didn’t miss it and she turned to Brienne with a knowing look. “Oh, you’re definitely going to have to tell me what happened.”

“Nothing,” Brienne insisted. “I swear.”

“I don’t know, anyone that makes Jaime Lannister look twice is definitely someone I want to know better.”

Brienne froze. “Jaime… Lannister?”

Margaery tilted her head, pleasantly and prettily confused. “Yes, didn’t you know?”

No. No, she didn’t.

_Fuck._


	4. Day 410

Day 410

She couldn’t find her damn hoodie. 

Brienne’s eyes swept the room, her hands kept busy by tugging her sneakers on. No matter where she looked, the bright blue zip up with **ϑῤν** written across the front was missing.

Sighing roughly and dropping her head down, Brienne muttered, “You have it, don’t you?”

Behind her, Jaime pretended at a large yawn and wrapped his arm around her waist, as if to anchor her in place. “Don’t know what you mean.”

“My Theta hoodie. I need it, where did you hide it?”

“You lost me, Tarth. Hoodie? I don’t even remember seeing you wearing this thing you call a _hoodie_.”

He could feign obliviousness, but Brienne had a distinct memory of Jaime’s fingers slowly gliding the zipper down as his mouth did wonderful things to her jaw, his other hand grasping her hip. Somewhere in the fog of her still sleepy mind, she remembered that he’d tossed it in the direction of his desk so it must be- No. It wasn’t there.

“I have to lead the trip to the soup kitchen today, damn it, Jaime. Just give it to me.” Brienne wiggled out of his grasp, training her eyes above the bed so that his attempt to entice her back went unheeded. 

“Sorry, can’t help you.” 

Brienne grumbled, but gave up. “Fine, I’ll just freeze, thanks.”

“You could take mine.” 

She didn’t have a second to ask what the item in question was, her vision was immediately impeded by the swath of red fabric tossed at her head. Brienne wrestled it off, unsurprised to find it had the stylized L and S designated to Lan Sigma on the back. 

“I can’t wear-”

“You can, our people trade hoodies all the time.”

“Oh, so now you know what a hoodie is?”

Jaime just grinned at her.

“I’ve got to go,” Brienne mumbled. She stuck her arms through the sleeves anyway, committing to annoyance when Jaime brightened further at the sight.

When he made a silent motion to his bedroom door, Brienne glared and marched across the room to his window. 

“Brienne-”

“Not happening, Lannister.”

She didn’t let him say anything else, or at least she didn’t hear him over the sound of the windowpane sliding up and clunking into place. Out went one leg and then the other; Brienne felt cautiously around the roof outside, never mind that she’d done it more than a time or two before. 

“You don’t have to be this stubborn!” Jaime called at her from inside. 

“You’re one to talk!” Brienne shouted back. 

There was the sound of another window opening, the one from the room next door to Jaime’s, and someone with a heap of disheveled red hair poked his head out. 

“It’s a bit early for it, isn’t it?” Addam Marbrand asked. 

“He’s an ass and I have places to be,” Brienne informed him. She shimmied along the roof, her usual route for departure taking her closer to Addam as she spoke. He stuck a hand out and she gave him a thankful look when it made her work go faster. 

“I had to miss class yesterday,” Addam mentioned, “think I can borrow your notes?”

“ _Again_?”

“Flight sims went late, sorry.”

Brienne sighed but nodded and then said “Thanks” when Addam leaned out from his room to provide a steady mount so she could scrape her legs down until her feet were braced just above the gutters. 

“You know,” Addam said conversationally, “the front door is always an option.”

The noise that came from her throat could only be categorized as a harrumph. “Not until he does it first.”

Addam grimaced. “Yeah, we’re going to be waiting on that for a while.”

“Exactly.” Brienne squeezed his hand to show him she was ready and Addam released her so she could slide down the rest of the way, thankfully not tumbling to the ground, but easing downward until her palms gripped the edge of the roof; her feet dangled from a safe distance and then she let go. 

She landed with a soft _whump_ and found Pod staring at her from the back porch, a mug of something warm and steaming in his hands. 

“Good morning.”

“G’morning,” Pod replied. “I’m glad I caught you, can you read over an essay for me? It doesn’t feel right.”

“Sure, just email me.” Brienne brushed off her jeans and zipped up the red hoodie that kept her warm despite the slight chill in the morning air. “I’m busy today, but I’ll get back to you by tomorrow.”

“You’re the best, Brienne.”

She made her way through the backyard, heading for the fence, but a wolf whistle had her turning with another agonized sigh. “What?!”

“You know, I _think_ the guys might be figuring out that we’re dating,” Jaime bellowed. He was, of course, leaning out on his windowsill and, _of course_ , wearing her hoodie. The front gaped open to show his well sculpted chest and he looked unfairly, ridiculously good in it. 

“We’re not dating!” Brienne yelled back; her mouth twitched when Addam and Pod joined in. 

Jaime blew her a kiss and Brienne hopped the back fence before he could catch the ear-to-ear grin on her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Less than ten days to sign up for the Jaime x Brienne Fic Exchange 2020! There are a great many people involved and everyone is welcome to join! [Sign up here!](https://jaime-brienne-fic-exchange.tumblr.com/)


	5. Day -354

Day -354

Tyrion: You need to come home. 

Tyrion: He’s out of control. 

Jaime: ijust got back to school. im sure youre fine. 

Tyrion: He came at me with a knife this morning.

Jaime: WHAT

Tyrion: All right, a blade. 

Jaime: TYRION GET OUT OF THERE

Tyrion: Fine, it was a razor. 

Jaime: …

Tyrion: Said he wants to teach me how to shave. 

Jaime: …

Tyrion: Which I maintain is just as terrifying. 

Jaime: ffs

Jaime: dont scare me like that

Tyrion: How disturbing is it that you believed it, though?

Jaime: hes doing better. has been for a while

Tyrion: I was certain he’d revert back to normal once you were gone. The tension is killing me. Or he’ll kill me once he snaps out of it and remembers that he hates me. 

Jaime: …

Tyrion: Don‘t insult me by saying he doesn’t. 

Jaime: its been different for a while

Tyrion: Because you were home. Any second now he’ll notice the golden child isn’t here anymore and that he’s only got me. 

Tyrion: Please come home. Please Jaime. 

Jaime: i cant im sorry, you know i cant 

Tyrion: …

Jaime: im already a year behind after what happened. cers is giving me so much shit about being a freshman again instead of a sophomore like her

Tyrion: She’d give you shit about anything anyway. 

Jaime: true 

Tyrion: You don’t even need to crush your other hand! Just tell him that you want to go to school closer to home. You know he’ll let you. 

Jaime: wow, thanks. very generous

Tyrion: Fine. 

Jaime: tyrion 

Jaime: tyrion

Jaime: tyrioooooob

Jaime: tyriooooooooooon

Tyrion: what

Jaime: yiure going to be okay. at least he wants to show you. i learned from genna and she made me use one of her pink razors

Jaime: smooth as hell tho

Tyrion: I just wish whatever demon possessed him would vacate the premises already. It’s unnerving. 

Jaime: demon?

Tyrion: I think an angel would combust if they went within a thousand meters of him. A demon would act pleasant for the sake of freaking us out and it’s WORKING.

Jaime: ha

Tyrion: Though I’m still betting on a parasite. Worming into his brain and chomping on all the synapses that made him a cruel bastard before this. 

Jaime: gross 

Tyrion: On the bright side, if that’s the case, that means the damage is done and the new, improved Tywin is here to stay. 

Jaime: crossing my fingers 

Tyrion: I wish you were home. 

Jaime: fall break ill be there. 

Tyrion: Not the same. I got to have you for a whole year without Cersei. 

Jaime: yeah it only took a massive injury and six months of physical therapy but i can see where you came out the winner

Tyrion: Just don’t let her get her hooks in you again. I like you much better when she’s not pulling the puppet strings. Are you rushing for Targ Alpaca again this year? 

Jaime: hell no

Tyrion: Ah, yes, the hand thing.

Jaime: nice of you to remember since we were JUST TALKING ABOIT IT

Tyrion: Gods, your texting is painful sometimes. I’m thirteen and can capitalize on my grammar far more effectively than you. 

Jaime: 🖕🏼

Jaime: cap that

Tyrion: Is that your wonky hand? Lists a little to the side now, doesn’t it? Think you’d be used to that. 

Jaime: little shit 

Tyrion: Seriously though. Is everything okay with that?

Jaime: flight instructor says it should be ok

Jaime: but the waf is a lot more strict

Jaime: guess well see

Tyrion: …

Jaime: ...

Tyrion: Sorry. 

Jaime: forget about it

Tyrion: …

Tyrion: So if not the alpacas, are you utilizing your legacy for Lan Sigma? 

Jaime: yeah

Tyrion: ...

Jaime: ...

Tyrion: …

Tyrion: Jaime, I’m sorry. 

Jaime: iknow

Jaime: plus side addam is here now and hes rushing w me. its a lot more fun this year. worsT the lans had us do so far is stand guard for the house overnight bc fucking bar ep is trying to be the big shit now that aerys is out of targ 

Tyrion: Are they still trying to make Storm Lords happen?

Jaime: yep 

Tyrion: Stop trying to make Storm Lords happen! It’s NOT going to happen!

Jaime: 😆

Jaime: never letting anyone kno we watched that tho right

Tyrion: Never. 

Tyrion: I can hear him calling for me. Gods, what could he have planned. 

Jaime: father son bonding?

Tyrion: ::shudders::

Jaime: youll be okay. Ill be home next month. 

Tyrion: Wait and see, the rate he’s going, he’ll throw a welcome home party. 

Jaime: gods forbid

Tyrion: Streamers. Party hats. A clown making balloon animals. 

Jaime: dont pretend you wouldnt want a dragon 

Tyrion: …

Tyrion: That would be awesome. 

Jaime: long live the parasite?

Tyrion: Long live the parasite.


	6. Day 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid going too crazy with the tags, let's just say we're going to have a lot of characters wandering in and out of this story. :D
> 
> And ICYMI - Nire did an AWESOME in-universe contribution called [No Dungeons, One Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433999) aka Day 363 - go read it!

Day 24

They spread out on the lawn in front of the house. Brienne had gotten vague instructions when ordered to join everyone, so she was wearing a well-loved Tarth Harpoons shirt and a pair of fairly grotty sweatpants; if she’d known they would be outside, well, it’s not like she had anything nicer, but the warning would have been helpful. She felt better after finding that Meera and Jeyne were dressed similarly, but Margaery and Elinor were wearing far more flattering fare.

Dacey Mormont, president of Theta Rho Nu, stood before them. Without ceremony, she said, “What happened this past weekend was nothing compared to how bad things can get. Our brothers were helpful, but I don’t rely on others to make sure that I am safe. For that reason, I have been studying different forms of self-defense and I believe it is right that the members of this house are equipped as well.”

“I know that some of us are perhaps more capable than others” - Dacey tipped her head at Brienne, to which she felt her cheeks flush with heat - “but we all need to have at least passing knowledge. Let’s begin.”

Begin they did, Dacey walking around the group and giving pointed, brutally honest instruction. Jeyne had arms like spaghetti, so she needed to tighten up. Alysanne got a gentle knock under her chin from the curve of Dacey’s knuckle as a reminder to look up. Brienne didn’t get a comment, but felt Dacey’s appraising eye and - astonishingly - received an approving half-smile. 

Brienne tried not to be distracted by it, particularly since it still hovered in her mind that Dacey hadn’t thought she’d be a good fit for the sorority. They hadn’t spoken much since, Brienne having been left to Margaery’s whims, but their few interactions had left Brienne feeling small.

Dacey wasn’t cruel or rude, nothing like that. However, Dacey’s height made it so she met Brienne’s gaze without casting her eyes up, she had a quietly watchful nature and near-visible spine of steel. Only a couple of years older, but Dacey seemed in another stratosphere entirely and Brienne couldn’t stop the foolish thoughts that if she’d just been born with a slightly more graceful figure, a less slab-like jaw, hadn’t twice broken her nose that maybe, _maybe_ …

Life could have been a little different.

Any chances of falling down that particularly depressing rabbit hole were interrupted by the sound of steps approaching in unison. The Theta pledges looked down the road to see a group of girls in matching dark pink tank tops and shorts jogging in their direction; at the head was none other than Cersei Lannister and Brienne felt a coil of dread form in her stomach as they slowed to a stop at Cersei’s silent command. 

“Well, good morning ladies!” Cersei’s grin was cheerful and sharp all at once. “Dacey, I had no idea that you were setting up an exercise program, too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, though, so thank you.”

“Did you create Krav Maga?” Dacey asked in a bored tone. “How silly of me to not have known that.”

Brienne looked away from Cersei’s caustic smile and toward the other girls, hovering briefly over who she knew to be Sansa Stark and then down the line to where a softly rounded girl trailed at the back. As if following Brienne’s line of sight, Sansa went to check on the short-breathed girl and came back to the front right after. 

“I think I may head back with Lollys,” Sansa said in a low tone to Cersei.

“All the more reason she should stay, she needs to improve her stamina,” Cersei replied.

“Really?” Margaery drawled. “I’d think holding your breath was a bit more of a priority with your lot.”

A flash of irritation flew over Cersei’s face, replaced with a cloying smirk. “If that was the case, you’re the expert we’d consult, dear Margy.”

“Gladly,” Margaery said just as sweetly. “You’re more than welcome to head up to my room for a lesson after you’re finished jiggling, oh, sorry, _jogging_ down fraternity row. Or have you already finished that part of your display?”

Cersei sneered and Margaery was stopped from saying anything else when Dacey put a hand on her arm.

“Feel free to carry on,” Dacey told her rival president. “I’ll focus on my girls, you’ll focus on yours, same as ever.”

“ _Girls_.”

Brienne briefly shut her eyes, already knowing that when she opened them, Cersei would be staring straight at her.

“Seems as if you have a very loose interpretation of the word.” Cersei looked back at Dacey. “Here I thought you’d hired a bouncer after the brawl last weekend.”

“Carry on, Cersei,” Dacey repeated.

“I suppose I should,” Cersei said airily. “Bar Ep is hosting a mixer for us, they truly wish to be our brothers this year, it’s shameful how eager they are.”

“Eager,” Margaery laughed out. “How hard up is ol’ Bobby about getting into your pants again? And just how does it feel to be chased after by a sixth year senior?”

Cersei scowled mightily and looked as if she were about to stomp her foot. “He’s a graduate student now! He’s nearly done with his dissertation!”

“More like dickertation,” Margaery said lowly, though everyone heard it. “With a concentration in pussy, no less.”

Cersei gasped, but it was Sansa’s turn to play peacekeeper and she started jogging away, leaving Cersei no choice but to join in when the pledges followed. The Thetas watched in silence until they were gone and Margaery grumbled, “I nearly had her.”

“You’ll get another shot at Cersei at some point,” Dacey said mildly.

“No.” Margaery looked surprisingly sad. “Lollys. I can’t believe she went with Kappa instead.”

“You win some, you lose some,” Dacey replied. And, amazingly, she looked back at Brienne. “I’d say we had some wins of our own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For real, go read [No Dungeons, One Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433999) aka Day 363 - you won't regret it! Leave a kudos or comment to tell Nire how fantastic she is!


	7. Day 231

Day 231

It was her own fault, in the end. When Jaime texted, Brienne answered automatically, far faster than she’d previously allowed herself. It was difficult to say no, after so much wasted time and with the end of classes speedily approaching. Thus when he asked, she answered, and now he was shoving himself into a chair across from her in the library, the legs underneath screeching against the well-worn floor. 

He’d brought his backpack, but she wasn’t fooled.

“Give me half an hour,” Brienne muttered under her breath and continued paging through the book in front of her with one hand, writing down notes with the other. 

It took no time before she heard the crinkle of a wrapper and she glanced up to find Jaime popping a sucker into his mouth, another sweet stretched out toward her. She would expend more effort to wave him off, so she took it and shoved it between her teeth, clamping down on the stick when Jaime made an interested noise.

“Quiet you,” she reminded him.

He gave her a whole fifteen minutes, time he used to empty his backpack to set out pens and notebooks, more candy and a bottle of water. Then he drummed his fingers on the table until Brienne bit back a sigh, glanced at her phone and said, “I can’t ask any more of you, can I?”

“Probably not.” He crunched down on the sucker and - _gross_ \- shoved the damp stick into his jean pocket. “When you said you were on the fourth floor, I thought you were messing with me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“No, I suppose not.” He let out a laugh, his finger tracing over a rough etching on the table. “Did you do this?”

“Do I look like someone who vandalizes school property?”

“No, but someone wrote C Lannister Is A Bitch, so if it wasn’t you, I have to assume that the table itself has truth-telling properties.”

Brienne snorted, but didn’t say anything. 

Jaime stretched his neck to take a look in all directions. “How did you even find it? I didn’t know they had tables in this part of the library.”

“A friend showed me,” Brienne replied offhandedly. Jaime made a far crankier noise and his face went slightly thunderous.

“Don’t tell me it was Stark.”

“What does it matter?” Annoyed and that she even had to say it, Brienne clarified, “It wasn’t Robb.”

“Better not have been,” Jaime mumbled mutinously. 

“I told you nothing happened,” Brienne sighed out. “You and I weren’t even… and even if we were, I wouldn’t lie about it.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, but Brienne grasped hold of it anyway, searching the book in front of her for the passage she needed. Jaime could sulk all he wanted, she still had work to do, though the nudge at her feet a minute later told her it was all for nought. 

Once Jaime trapped one of her ankles between his and gave it a tiny shake, she huffed and looked up again. 

“Sorry,” was all he said. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Brienne repeated. She finished off her sucker and carefully folded the stick back in its wrapper. 

Jaime looked as if he _wanted_ to believe her and she wished that she hadn’t given him a reason to be careful around her. It certainly wasn’t helped by her insistence that they keep what they’d started under wraps, at least until the smoke cleared. That he was willing to do that, for _Brienne_ no less, was still a surprise, but that wasn’t fair of her to think. Jaime was almost nothing like she had originally pegged him.

Feeling fond and increasingly warm at the sight of the candy-red stain on his lips, Brienne retrieved her phone and stood up, stopping the timer as she went. “Come here.”

Jaime followed her, just as automatically as she’d written her reply text. The area they were in was rather private, as far as libraries went, but she pulled him into a little alcove between two tall carrels and leaned back against the wall, pulling Jaime to follow in after her. 

He was close enough to do whatever she liked - and she liked to do a lot, just as much as he did - but Brienne took a moment to grab his shirtfront and say, “I really like you.”

His eyes darted from her eyes to her mouth and back again. “I really like you, too.”

It made Brienne’s chest flutter. It was as mind-boggling as when he’d said it the month before, but damn it if she didn’t believe him. “So will you stop being such a jealous prat, please?”

“I heard some girls find jealousy sexy,” Jaime offered.

“Not this girl,” Brienne informed him as she yanked on his shirt, partly to emphasize it; mainly it brought Jaime in even closer. 

“Not this girl,” Jaime agreed in the bare space of breath between them and then closed the distance, his mouth slanting over hers and Brienne melted into his embrace. 

They could have stayed there for hours. Experience told Brienne that once she started kissing Jaime, once she let her brain float away, coasting along the feel of Jaime’s shifting muscles under her hands, his gripping her waist, her cheek, her hair, his mouth searing against hers - an hour could pass in an instant. 

It was just as well that she’d reset her study timer for ten minutes.

“You didn’t,” Jaime groaned when her phone played its melody and Brienne laughed. 

“I have to study,” Brienne protested. 

Jaime’s smile brushed against hers when he shook his head. “Five more minutes?”

Brienne shimmied her hand down to her back pocket, beaten by Jaime reaching it first; he was blatant about palming her ass when he did and she laughed again. 

He looked so hopeful, so sly, so… _Jaime._

Brienne grinned, took the phone and agreed, “Five more minutes.”


	8. Day 55

Rush Day 55

There was a healthy smattering of applause, but Jeyne’s cheeks pinked as if she had received a standing ovation. Brienne watched from the back porch, smiling to herself when Jeyne gave the crowd a curtsy to round off her performance and delightedly received compliments from members of the Thorns and Sigmas alike. 

Drawing back from the porch rail, Brienne watched everyone - resolutely ignoring Jaime laughing it up with some of his pals across the way - and she winced when she caught sight of Dacey catching sight of _her_ and desperately hoped that she wasn’t the next victim.

 _Victim_ was a strong word, however, when it came to the Thorns. Brienne had heard of challenges like pledges being dared to streak in their lingerie down sorority row or standing up on tables to dance for the entertainment of those eating in the dining hall. Dacey and Margaery did no such thing, but all of their pledges were expected to follow the commands of those in charge all the same.

Jeyne was instructed to sing for their barbecue with the Sigmas, something she protested mightily, but she had a lovely voice that had left everyone smiling. Elinor had grumbled when Margaery demanded she make dessert for everyone; for a girl that Brienne had guessed expected every meal to be provided by house staff, she made a mean chocolate cake. 

As for Brienne, Margaery had found her in the house gym and ‘suggested’ that Brienne show how many pull-ups she could do in a row. By the time she was done, Margaery looked almost bored, her eyes glazed over, and Brienne was left thankful that she hadn’t been asked to do something humiliating. 

Now Dacey was coming her way and Brienne shot a quick glance at the other side of the porch, her cheeks reddening when she saw Jaime looking back in her direction. He quirked an eyebrow at her and took a sip from the plastic cup in his hand; Brienne took a drink of her own to cover that it only made her flush deepen. 

Push-ups, or a sprint, or crunches, she could do any of that. Gods forbid it was anything else. And in front of an _audience?_ Brienne tried to muffle her groan as Dacey drew closer.

“Pledge Tarth,” Dacey said with her customary authoritative tone.

“Yes, Miss President,” Brienne answered as was expected.

Dacey paused and drew back her head ever so slightly. Brienne tried to telegraph with her eyes her hopes that whatever she was asked wouldn’t require stripping or a song that suited a bump and grind.

“I want…” Dacey hummed. “I want you to give yourself three compliments.”

Brienne took it back. Bring on the bump and grind.

“E-excuse me?” Brienne stuttered out.

“Three compliments,” Dacey repeated, matter-of-fact. She crossed her arms. “I’m waiting.”

“I, uh… I...” Brienne tried to make other words come out of her mouth, but it was only a series of starts and stops, ums and ahs. “Th-three?”

Dacey brought up her hand and counted off one finger at a time. “One-two-three, have at it.”

“Um,” - Brienne swallowed hard - “I… I can do a lot of pull ups?”

“Already _well_ known. Try again.”

She could feel a cold sweat breaking out all over her skin and no matter what ideas her brain tried to summon, Brienne couldn’t draw anything up but a complete blank. Then.

“You can throw a hell of a punch, Tarth.”

Jaime. Lannister. 

Brienne jerked her head in his direction, finding him much closer and incredibly, unabashedly amused by her waffling. 

“ _Hell_ of a punch,” he repeated. Turning to Dacey, he asked, “That has to count, right?”

“I never punched you.” Brienne finally pulled words together, only for them to be angrily muttered in his direction.

“I know what I saw,” Jaime said lightly. “If I were on the receiving end of it, my head would still be ringing.”

Dacey pursed her lips and nodded. “Agreed. Two more, Pledge Tarth.”

It was even more difficult with both of them watching her now, Dacey’s expression expectant and Jaime’s self-satisfied. Standing with them, though, Brienne realized they were both nearly of a height with her and surely they’d consider it a boon.

“I’m… tall?” she hazarded. 

Brow furrowed, Dacey asked, “Would you call that compliment?”

Brienne couldn’t be certain, he’d mumbled it so lowly, but Jaime said something like _can’t be an insult with legs like that._

“Well, I am,” Brienne replied, keeping her eyes firmly on Dacey. “Tall, I mean.”

“But are you happy about it?” Dacey prompted her. 

Brienne took a few seconds, diverting her gaze away. Mockery had followed her from the moment she’d sprouted high above her fellow grade-schoolers and with time she had made a shaky peace with it, aware that shy of causing some physical damage to change it, she’d always be tall. In the end, though, she preferred it over being short; she could reach for things that were further away, get places faster when she ran. So… yes.

“Yes, it’s a good thing,” Brienne said slowly.

Dacey smiled. “Good. Now give me one more.”

Desperate to make it end, Brienne dug deep, thinking of all the things that had led her here, to this very spot. That in mind, she said, “I… I would do anything for my friends. I can be brave, for them.”

This time, Dacey didn’t question it. She patted Brienne's shoulder as she left, saying, “Thank you, Pledge Tarth.”

“You’re welcome, Miss President,” Brienne faintly replied. 

She barely had a moment to relax before Jaime sidled close. “Bravery is all well and good, Tarth, but if you were going for a compliment, I would have mentioned your eyes.”

Brienne blinked at him. “My eyes?”

“Even better than the legs,” Jaime said as he tapped his cup against hers with a dull clunk. Then he walked away, tossing out over his shoulder, “Trust me, never seen such a damned shade of blue.”


	9. Day 304

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Nire and Firesign23, who contributed ideas for a D&D prequel. If you haven't read Nire's [No Dungeons, One Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433999), I... I don't even know what to say. Go read it! This chapter can wait!

Day 304 

“I’m telling you that’s not acceptable.” Tyrion had never sounded more aggrieved. It was a feat, seeing as Cersei was the one he was speaking to; they’d had years of practice in provoking one another and had fine-tuned it to an art form. “Sorcerers have an innate power, but you can’t expect to come in and tame animals in your first campaign. Even if you do ten of them, it’ll never be a natural strength for your character.”

“Then _why_ does it say that I’m naturally gifted on this?” Cersei vehemently waved the sheet of paper in the air. “That’s the whole reason I picked an elven sorcerer in this damned game.”

“It’s not a game,” Tyrion and Jaime said in tandem. 

“It’s a quest,” Tyrion continued with a mutinous glare in their sister’s direction. “And you’re free to be on your way, it’s not like I wanted you here in the first place.”

There was a loud sigh from the fourth side of the table and all three of them looked at their father. Tywin Lannister, wearing a _t-shirt and shorts_ \- Jaime couldn’t process the bermuda hat on top of his head, to do that would send him into a tailspin from which he would never recover - gave another sigh and in a long-suffering tone remarked, “All I wanted was one afternoon with my children before we go in all different directions again. Can you at least try to get along?”

Cersei let out a snarl in response and Jaime was still trying to not look at the hat, so it was up to Tyrion to say, “She’s not even pretending to care about this. Why did you make her join us?”

It set Cersei off again and Jaime leaned back in his chair, pulling his phone free to see if Brienne had written back. He used his squabbling siblings as distraction to open his phone under the edge of the patio table, smothering a grin when he saw that she had.

Brienne: _Surely it can’t be that bad._

Jaime: _you dont understand_

Jaime: _the hat matches the shorts and the shorts are almost the same color as the ones i wore for my halloween costume_

Brienne: _Oh gods._

Jaime: _dont know whatsw worse. either he specifically bought them that way or he had someone MAKE them that way_

Jaime: _he used to have bespoke suits now he has bespoke loungewear_

There was a long lull, one in which he imagined that Brienne was smiling and shaking her head at him. He hadn’t been to Tarth in person, but he’d seen the general layout of her bedroom wherever they video chatted and had committed it to memory. It was a pleasant image in his head: Brienne scooted back against her headboard, her endless legs splayed on the worn and faded quilt that was nonetheless neatly tucked in around the edges of the mattress. 

He’d had much more heated fantasies about her on that bed, but at the moment he was warmed by the idea of her sitting there, laughing because of him. As luxurious as the Lannister beach house on the Fair Isle was, he’d much rather have been in her poky little bedroom on the other side of Westeros. It’d been a welcome, if startling, realization that anywhere Brienne was, that place was automatically better for it.

Not that it had much competition with-

“NO! You cannot tame an elephant!” Tyrion smacked his DM screen down, his expression furious. “That is not the purpose of this campaign!”

Cersei flung out an accusing finger. “You said that it’s what we make of it!”

“As long as you don’t make it _unnecessarily stupid!_ All you’ll end up doing is getting your clueless ass trampled! _”_

“Language,” Tywin said mildly and Jaime snorted, skirting his eyes down when his father looked back at him.

Brienne: _I can’t believe you’re complaining that your father is nicer than he used to be._

Jaime: _my money is on an alien abduction these days_

Brienne: _He couldn’t have just decided to be a better person all on his own?_

Jaime: _alien abduction is a lot more likely_

Jaime: _but were getting used to it_

Cersei’s outraged screech caught his attention and Jaime looked up to find his father looking - of all things - _wounded_. “I was only saying that as a Druid, I can help you out if you need it, sweetling.”

“I don’t need help from some, some- godsforsaken gnome!”

Jaime: _kinda_

“I’ve enjoyed this since Tyrion introduced me to it. I had hoped you would, too,” Tywin murmured. “Perhaps this wasn’t the best idea after all.”

Tyrion threw both arms up, clearly caught between triumph and aggravation. “As I’ve been saying!” 

“Who _are_ you?” Cersei cried out at the same time. 

Brienne: _My dad’s calling me for dinner. Talk to you tonight?_

Jaime: _ofc :*_

Brienne: _Take a picture of the hat, though. I need to know you’re not messing with me._

Jaime: _i would never_

Brienne let her silence speak for itself and Jaime lifted his phone to take a photo of his father in his vacation duds. Tywin didn’t notice, as he was still trying to coax a stubbornly pouting Cersei into giving the campaign another try. Tyrion caught the shuttering noise and grinned at Jaime, waving for him to hand over his phone. 

“Hey Cersei,” Tyrion called out. “I was thinking of setting up a dungeons and dragons club at school once I get there. Think you’d want to give it another try then?”

Cersei pouted even harder and the phone made another shuttering noise.

“Perfect,” Tyrion said with delight. 


	10. Day 86

Day 86

The day was looking up.

A huge thunderstorm had grounded the fleet of school aircraft, Jaime’s empty stomach was almost screaming for attention and today, of all days, he’d decided to be green and use his bicycle to get places. Though the rain had settled for the time being, the damage was done and he was soaked through. 

But up ahead was Brienne, walking along a puddle-ridden sidewalk that everyone else was taking pains to avoid. Jaime sped to catch up, water spinning out behind him. He slowed as he drew closer, winding down so that the wheels faintly wobbled beneath him and he said, “Hey.”

Brienne turned her head in his direction, a smile pulling at her mouth before she could fully suppress it. Jaime flashed a grin back at her. 

“You look like a drowned rat,” Brienne observed. 

“You know, you try to show the environment a little care and this is it how it repays you.” Jaime shrugged and immediately almost lost his balance. Brienne barely stifled a laugh as he regained control. “How was your day?”

“Whatever it was, I think I’d still be able to say that it was better than yours,” Brienne replied wryly.

“Probably wouldn’t be a lie,” Jaime conceded. “I was looking forward to today, I was going to do a solo flight, had everything mapped out. Damn weather turned on me.”

He pretended to growl at the sky and then looked expectantly at her. 

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Brienne finally said after a too-long lull.

Jaime squinted at her. “You heard the part where I was going to fly a plane, yeah?”

“I did,” was the serious, yet somehow mocking answer.

“As in, _whoosh_.” He chanced letting go of the handle again to coast his flat palm in the air, mimicking flight. 

Brienne didn’t even try to hide her mockery when she spoke again. “Yes, I believe that’s how it works.”

“You know,” Jaime started, a little cranky, “some people would be impressed, maybe ask a question or two…”

He got a snort in reply. Snorts shouldn’t be cute, but _damn it_ …

Then she followed with, “Hard to be impressed with something I’ve been doing since I was fourteen,” and Jaime nearly fell off the bicycle entirely.

Brienne pulled ahead while he tried to find his balance and he sprayed her with a wave of water when he caught up. She stopped and shook out the wet hem of her jeans and graced him with an annoyed glower when he parked himself in her path. 

“You’re serious.”

“Why would I lie?”

“ _Fourteen?”_

She skirted around him to keep walking, but said, “I live on an island, it’s either wait for a ferry or use a seaplane. My dad started taking me up when I was a kid. I got my license as soon as I was able.”

“Why aren’t you in the flight program now?” Jaime demanded.

“Why would I be? I already know what I need to know.” 

He’d never seen her shrug off anything with such casual competence and he’d watched her lay Ron Connington flat on his ass in the middle of the street. Jaime was hard pressed to figure out which of the two situations made his blood thrum more but-

It was pretty equal. 

“Wow,” he said under his breath, half in awe and half at how quickly his already uncomfortable jeans became even more so. He cast his eyes up as if searching for an oncoming storm cloud, while inwardly he urged himself to calm the fuck down. “I, uh, that’s pretty awesome.”

Brienne made a noncommittal sound. “Would’ve thought you took the opportunity yourself, I had lots of… affluent kids from King’s Landing in my courses. Not that most of them even made it through.”

Jaime let out a laugh, amused too much by the derision in her voice to take offense. “Didn’t get the chance and when I started here, my dad had me on track to get my MBA. Then this happened.”

He wiggled his right hand, drawing her eyes to the faint scars running along his fingers. Most girls would coo and gingerly take his hand in theirs, eyes filled with exaggerated concern. Brienne made a grimacing face and looked at him with something far truer than that and then said, “Shit.”

It made him laugh again, louder and brighter. 

“You all right? I mean, you must be, if you’re able to fly,” Brienne said in a rush, as if to cover for her less than tender reaction.

“I’ve got some bad days,” Jaime admitted, more honestly than he intended. “Rarely, but yeah, I”m okay.”

“What happened?” she asked carefully.

“Stupid accident,” Jaime muttered. Then louder, “Freshman year, my first one. Ended up going home for treatment and when I came back last year, my dad said I could do what I wanted. So… flight.”

A series of questions flew over Brienne's face, but she only said, “That’s really nice of him.”

“Really weird, actually,” Jaime corrected her. “He must’ve had a stroke or something, because that was really unlike him.”

Brienne looked absolutely baffled; nevertheless, if Jaime still couldn’t make sense of Tywin’s personality transplant, there was no way he could explain it to her. 

They came to the intersection that would send them in their separate ways, but Jaime was glad to see Brienne hesitate. 

“It was nice running into you,” Jaime said leadingly.

Brienne pursed her lips, then huffed and smiled. It warmed him through and through. “Yeah, it was.”

It made him hope, too. “Call you later?” 

“Uh…” Brienne laughed again, sounding slightly weary and cautiously pleased. “Sure, if you want.”

She turned away, leaving him behind and as much as he wanted to trail after her, pester her, maybe sneak another kiss out of her, Jaime only shouted, “Hey, but will you answer?”

Brienne spun in place and spread her hands. “I guess we’ll see!”


	11. Day 76

Day 76

“Here, I think it needs this.”

Alysanne held out the deep pink bloom. Brienne eyed it warily, but threaded it into the crown that Jeyne had been patiently teaching her how to join together. Pink might have been one of her least favorite colors, but it fit well into the conflagration of flowers. If it had been meant for anyone else’s head, Brienne thought it might have even looked pretty.

Sighing softly, she turned it over in her hands a few times and said, “I think mine is done.”

Jeyne’s sigh was much louder. “It has plenty of space for more.”

Brienne frowned and placed the crown atop her own head. “I’m not… this works.”

She looked around at the other pledges sitting with her in the quad and all with crowns in varying states of completion. Envy darted through her when she saw that Meera had woven branches together, dotted along with a few buds. It fit well with her wild hair and direct, focused expression. 

Biting her tongue to keep from asking if they could trade, Brienne asked, “Anyone ready for the walk around campus?”

Only Meera was done and she stood alongside her. Though quieter than most of their pledge group, Meera was always good company and Brienne had liked her from the moment they’d met. If Brienne was the unlikeliest pledge for the Thorns, Meera had to be next in line, but somehow they had both made it through.

They walked in comfortable silence, enough that Brienne didn’t fidget with her crown too much throughout their stroll of the campus; it was their last directive, an announcement to anyone and everyone that they were on the cusp of officially joining Theta Rho Nu. By tomorrow night, each of their handmade crowns would be traded for something official, or so they had been promised. 

From the beginning of the semester, Brienne had expected bigger obstacles, harsher shakedowns and questionable challenges. It hadn’t necessarily been _easy_ , but she’d prepared for the worst and was amazed that it had been… fun.

“I think…” She was surprised so much at the thought that she had to finish it. “I think I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I didn’t expect that.”

Meera’s mouth tilted up in a kind smile. “Me neither, truthfully.”

Unable to explain any further, Brienne let her body relax. Ridiculous flower crown or not, initiation was near and she was _glad._ If the trade off for all this was getting to know each of the pledges, Margaery, Dacey, it was all entirely worth-

“ _You must be kidding._ ”

It was said from a distance, far enough away that she and Meera could pretend it wasn’t meant for them, except there was Cersei and several of her cronies up ahead, staring straight at them.

“Ignore them,” Meera muttered, as if Brienne didn’t intend to do it anyway, but her eyes were caught on how Cersei said something to the girl next to her. Sansa, of all people. 

Brienne stopped in place, Meera giving a questioning noise when she realized that she’d started to walk off alone. Soon enough, they all met in a small group on the sidewalk, blocking off the people who were trying to get past. 

Cersei didn’t say a word, but Sansa had clearly been designated to speak. “Ladies, how lovely you look.” The syrupy-sweetness of her voice made Brienne’s hands clench and she forced them to open back up. “Do I have it right, do the crowns mean you’ll be Thetas come tomorrow?”

“Thorns,” Meera replied flatly. 

Sansa gave out a tinkling laugh. “Yes, thorns. I suppose they have their place, not everyone can be a rose in bloom.” As if her meaning wasn’t clear, her eyes glanced up to the top of Brienne’s head and then back to the group of her girls around them, all of them tittering on cue. 

“You’ll find,” Cersei said loftily, “that not all sororities have our exacting standards. Half of our pledges will be sorely let down tomorrow, but that’s the risk you run when you want to get in with the best.”

Most of the girls went quiet and nervous; Sansa preened and said, “Well, if all else fails, they can try Theta, since they’ll obviously accept anyone.”

The tittering resumed - half-hearted at best - and Brienne grit her teeth, determined to say nothing. 

Meera had no such compunctions.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Sansa?” It was said with such vitriol that Sansa startled back. She looked to Cersei, who only shrugged and started walking off, but Meera stepped into Sansa’s path and she was left on her own. “Seriously. What were we doing that you had to come over and be a complete hag for no reason?”

Sansa scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She shouldered past them and Meera glared at her until she was out of sight. “Gods, her parents would be so disappointed.”

Surprised, Brienne asked, “You know her parents?”

“Our dads go way back. _We_ used to go way back.” Meera shook out her shoulders, still clearly angry. “I dated her brother and, believe me, that was not the Sansa I used to know.”

“No?”

“It’s like… she’s completely different here, I don’t get it.” Meera looked it, both puzzled and disheartened. “When I told her I was enrolling, she got so weird about it. She even told me not to bother pledging for a sorority, that I wouldn’t be a ‘good fit’.”

“But... you did.”

“Spite is a powerful thing,” Meera said with faux-cheer. “Not that I regret it, Theta’s been awesome.”

“Can’t say the same for the Kappas,” Brienne murmured. 

“Yep, that was a thin veneer of pretty over a whole pile of bullshit,” Meera agreed. “Sansa aside, her family is actually really nice. Her cousin and brother are in Dire Omega and they’re great guys.”

“The brother you dated?”

“No, the older one. Robb.” Meera brightened. “I can introduce you if you want.”


	12. Day 189

Day 189

“Aw, hells.”

There wasn't a more apt reaction to the sound of a door slammed open. Bronn groaned deep in his throat and looked sideways at Addam, who had a similarly disgruntled expression. 

Bronn shut off the television and slung his arm over the back of the sofa to take in Jaime removing his jacket with jerky motions, anger emanating from every pulled sleeve and stitch. Addam initiated a furtive exchange of rock, paper, scissors that had Bronn - _fuck it all_ \- the loser, so he adopted a casual tone and said, “Well, hey there, sunshine.”

Addam chortled, but added nothing useful. Asshole.

He had so many regrets, but never so many as when Jaime took note of his audience and, without even a by-your-leave, stuck out his hand and barked out, “Keys.”

“Fuck me, man, I just had it detailed,” Bronn immediately replied. 

“ _I_ just had it detailed,” Jaime growled out. “Keys.”

Cursing, Bronn took the keys for his battered, beloved jeep out his pocket and tossed them at the sulky little twat. Did he get a thanks for his sacrifice? No, no, he did not. Instead, Jaime pulled on the jacket he’d just torn off and headed right back out the door.

Bronn found Addam typing away at his phone, already at work. “Elinor’s checking with Margaery and she’ll check with-”

“We know who this is about,” Bronn grumbled. Everyone in the damn frat was well aware of who had left Jaime jumped up and bitter ever since winter break. “You know, I thought this bullshit was strictly a Kappa thing, I’m surprised at her. He’s a pretty little thing, she could do a lot worse.”

Addam whistled under his breath and wiggled his phone as proof. “Not much worse. She was out with Robb Stark tonight.”

“No accounting for taste.” Bronn hoped that his jeep was only going for a long drive and not romping through muddy hills, as Jaime had done the last couple of times. “Tell me I don’t need to do anything.”

“Can’t do that, prez.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Get your ass out of here.” Addam turned on the television and settled back. “If you can’t get a straight answer from Lollys, maybe you can get one from Brienne.”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

Addam just smiled and turned back to the tv. 

It was a short trip to the Thorn house and Bronn went as quickly as possible, with an expectation that Robb knew how to show a lady a good time and hadn’t dropped her off just yet. Couldn’t find Brienne? Valid excuse and Bronn would be off the hook until next time.

 _Fucking fuck fuck, Robb, damn you,_ was whathe found himself thinking only minutes later when someone at the door said, yes, of course Brienne was home, should they go get her?

“Yeah, I guess,” Bronn muttered. 

He stayed on the front porch despite the invitation to enter. When Brienne joined him, all six foot and change, with a confused look on her face, he almost felt sorry for her. But he felt more sorry for himself. 

“All right, I’ll make this quick,” Bronn started, which only made Brienne look more wary. “I didn’t think you’d be capable of it, but you’re fucking with my friend’s head something awful and I need you to do something about it.”

“I’m… sorry?” 

“That’s a start, but you’ll have to sound less like you don’t know what’s going on.”

“I _don’t_ know what’s going on.”

“Jaime,” Bronn said impatiently. “The vice to my president, the pain in my ass. His attitude’s been shit for weeks now and I’m getting tired of it and I don’t think my jeep can take much more. And if he’s a miserable cunt, I have to actually carry out my presidential duties instead of letting him handle it and, trust me, no one wants that.”

She’d stiffened as he spoke, but she sure as hell sounded honest enough when she replied, “I’m sorry to hear that, but I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“Don’t you?”

“I don’t.”

“You don’t?”

“That’s what I just said.”

Bronn studied her closely, watched a flush flow up her cheeks as he stared. Finally: “I believe you.”

“Okay,” Brienne said slowly. 

“I believe that you don’t know what you did, so let me educate you,” he continued, stopping her from going back inside. “First semester, Jaime’s all a-fucking-twitter about a girl. Things seem to be going well, she’s maybe hesitant, but it’s Lannister, a smart enough lady like yourself would proceed with caution.”

Brienne frowned, but he kept going. 

“Come back second semester and he’s pissy and having tantrums. Don’t get me wrong, he’s A-plus at them, but I’m not handing out awards for shitfits. And it seems the only time they happen is when your name pops up, especially when someone says it with Robb Stark’s. Want to tell me why that is?”

She answered by covering her face with both hands. “ _I am_ _not dating Robb._ How many times do I have to say it?”

“Few more times, but that’s not the point. You going to do something about Lannister or am I going to have to put up with this bullshit for the rest of the year?”

“He didn’t care,” Brienne burst out. “When I- when he- he said it was _fine_.”

“When you ditched him.”

“I didn’t ditch-” she bit off a curse and Bronn liked her a little, just for that. “He said it didn’t matter.”

“Here’s the thing,” Bronn said, as significantly as he could. “It did. Trust me.”

Brienne looked a tangled combination of tired, sad and regretful. It was exhausting just to see it. Bronn could hardly call himself satisfied, but there wasn’t much more to do than stick his hands in his pockets, say “Do with that what you will”, and leave her behind to ruminate on the truth of it. 


	13. Day 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rule #4 Throw out a rule or two if the chapter is being a pain in the ass. Why? Because I’m the ~~president~~ writer, that’s why.
> 
> ⚠️ Chapter warning in end notes.

Day 21

Until all hell broke loose, it had been like any other Valyrian block party. The frats and sororities intermingled, congratulating themselves on sorting out bids and laying their claims. Ale flowed freely, which might have been their biggest mistake. 

Cersei was having the time of her life, surrounded by enamoured pledges. Jaime could see that the Merryweather girl was her new favorite, ousting last year’s pet, Sansa. The redhead was scowling at the lot of them and Jaime walked up to say, “I never took you for the jealous sort, Stark.”

Quick as a whip, she put on the dazzling Kappa smile. “Jaime, lovely to see you.”

“Yeah,” Jaime drawled. “I’m sure you’re godsdamned overjoyed.”

She flounced off, their thin connection through Cersei not warranting more than a quick greeting and quicker parting. 

Bronn was shamelessly hitting on a wide-eyed freshman and Jaime chuckled at seeing Roslyn Frey corner Addam, flirting outrageously in a transparent hope of catching her ex’s attention. Not that Stark noticed, he was wrapped up with Jeyne Westerling while speaking with Dacey, who was obviously seeking any escape possible from the canoodling pair. 

Margaery should’ve swooped in with a save, but Jaime spied her with her own pledges, which surprisingly included the tall beast of a girl who he’d been certain would forgo bidding altogether. 

He considered going over to ask what had changed her mind. Surely there had to be a good reason why she’d lowered herself to socialize with a group she’d so clearly disapproved of - but his attention caught elsewhere and he groaned. 

Another mistake - lesser but still a fault - was that Jaime didn’t immediately kick out the interlopers.

“Come on, man,” Ben Bushy exclaimed. Ron Connington and a couple gormless guys at his side nodded along. “You already turned down our bids, least you can do is let us hang out.”

That’s exactly why they shouldn't have stayed, but Jaime was feeling magnanimous. More fool him. Within fifteen minutes, they were obnoxious. Within an hour, they were drunk, along with half of the crowd. And worse:

“What was _that_?”

Her voice carried, likely because she stood half a head over most everyone, but the vibrating anger in it made her louder. 

She jostled Jaime as she rushed past, barreling down on where Connington stood with another girl in a light blue Theta t-shirt. A cup was being handed off between them and the beast barked out, “Jeyne, don’t drink that!”

The smaller girl - another Jeyne, for fuck’s sake, a person could toss a stone and skip along the heads of at least five of them before it hit the ground - had already taken it, but gave the cup a dubious look. Connington rolled his eyes, his smile more a grimace and replied, “Ease up, beauty, no need to ruin anyone’s night.”

It didn’t stop her. She went nose to, well, forehead with him and declared, “I saw what you did.”

“From way up there, I bet you think you see a lot of things,” Connington snarled back. 

Jaime drew closer, Addam falling into step beside him. He saw Oberyn coming too, across the way. The girl - Brienne, yes? - didn’t see them or maybe didn’t care. She placed herself between Connington and the other girl and demanded, “You need to leave.”

“Make me.”

Most everyone in the vicinity had noticed something was going on and backed away. Bushy shouldered through them and jovially said, “Hey, we’re all here to have a good time. Let’s-”

“A good time?” She sounded, of all things, dangerous and it made the hairs on Jaime’s arms rise. If Connington was a smart man, he would have turned tail and run on the verbal threat alone. 

“Be on your way, beauty. Don’t make me ask twice.” 

So… not a smart man. 

Oberyn tried to sidle in, but Bushy set a hand on his chest and said, “We got this, pixie.”

“Do you?” Oberyn’s grin was sharp as a blade. “Best you go anyway.”

Bushy showed his own lack of foresight by shoving and replying, “Free country.”

Oberyn pushed back, his eyes glittering with intent. It started a scuffle that Jaime would have stepped in to stop, but Connington said something else to Brienne that made Jeyne gasp, duck under Brienne’s arm and throw her drink in his face. 

Bushy fell back into the crowd and stood up with a roar, bum rushing a delighted Oberyn. 

Connington wiped off his face, sputtering and hissing. 

Oberyn and Bushy crashed into some River Deltas, who shouted as their drinks were upended. Bushy’s pals raced forward to help, only adding to the melee. Girls started screaming, either from fear or giddiness, it was hard to say. 

It was madness within seconds and the throng of students surged forward, pushing Jaime toward the original trio, close enough to hear Connington spit out, “Fucking bitch!”

“Jeyne, go!” Brienne shouted and the girl immediately scampered.

“Bet you liked that, huh?” Connington gave Brienne a rough shove. “If there was anything in it, maybe you’d have your own chance to get lai-”

Connington flew into the air, so suddenly that Jaime didn’t know if he’d seen what he thought he had: Brienne, feet planted, stone-faced, her fist sailing into Connington’s nose and snapping his head back, his body and feet following with the force of it. 

She didn’t savor her victory or gloat at Connington’s prone, limp form. Brienne merely turned on her heel, already on the lookout for her pledge sisters beyond the scrabbling, screaming and riotous horde. Jaime caught her eye, still stunned by what he’d witnessed. 

He pointed and dumbly said, “She went that way.”

Brienne gave him a curt nod and went. 

He wanted to follow, he almost did, but some opportunistic asshole from Phi Rho Pi tried to cold clock him and Jaime was off to the races.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Fire_Sign and Nire for helping me scrounge this one together. <3
> 
> ⚠️ Reference to suspected/unsuccessful attempt to drug someone at a party.


	14. Day 393

Day 393

“All I’m saying is that we should be relieved. I had my own reasons for going with the Thorns, but with the shit I’m hearing now? Dodged a bullet, didn’t we?”

Margaery paused in her trek across the household, leaning through a doorway to take in the small group of pledges gathered on the couch. Pia Rivers’ eyes were round and ingenuous, hanging on Myranda Royce’s every word, just as Myranda likely wanted. 

Leonette Fossaway was the only one who saw Margaery and she kept silent when Margaery lightly touched her forefinger to her lips. 

“I didn’t really think about it,” Pia wondered aloud. “The Thorns seemed so nice during bid week, I hoped they’d pick me.”

“Nice is all well and good, but that’s not why I chose them,” Myranda replied. It seemed lost on her that she hadn’t done the choosing at all - but that was a lesson for another day. Margaery shared a tiny smile with Leonette and allowed Myranda to continue. “The Sigmas are our brothers and I’m hard pressed to find a tastier feast of men.”

Pia didn’t deny it, in fact her cheeks went a sweet pink and she nodded along.

“And, _ugh_ , who better than Jaime Lannister? Have you seen him? He comes around here often enough, it’s only a matter of time until he realizes what the newest class has to offer.” Myranda let out an almost obscene moan. “I can hardly wait.”

“He is very handsome,” Pia sighed. 

“Dibs, darling. As lovely as you are, I will brook no opposition on this one.”

Pia looked deflated and then alarmed. “Miss President! I didn’t see you!”

Myranda didn’t look in the least embarrassed or surprised to be caught gossiping. “I’m not wrong, am I, Margaery? Lannister is absolutely scrumptious.”

“Care to rephrase the question, Pledge Royce?”

“Very well” -- Myranda grinned, amused -- “am I wrong, Miss President?”

Glancing at her watch, Margaery frowned thoughtfully and said, “Walk with me.”

There was a few seconds of confusion where it became clear that Margaery was speaking to all of them. She left them to their shuffling, heading toward the back of the house and then out the door into the fresh evening air. Most people were winding down for the night; Margaery liked to keep to her own schedule, but she wasn’t quite as rigid - or as predictable - as others. 

“What, are we in trouble for salivating after the men you’ve partnered us with?” Myranda started off once they joined her. There was a note of false bravado in her tone now, as if she was expecting and already bored of an oncoming dressing down. “You can’t provide such a spread and not expect us to pluck out what we’d like to sample.”

“Oh, nothing of the sort,” Margaery sweetly denied. “We don’t judge appetites here at all, whatever side of the buffet you wish to partake. However, it must be known that Jaime Lannister-”

A backpack flew down from the sky, landing a perfect six feet away and startling the three pledges. Margaery didn’t move a muscle. 

“-is not available for general consumption.”

Myranda, Pia and Leonnette stared at the bag and then, as one, lifted their eyes upwards just as their mouths dropped open. 

Though she had her back to him, the amount of rustling from the trellis couldn’t be borne and, extremely annoyed, Margaery called out, “Must you destroy our roses every time?”

“Must you have roses here? Or you could plant less thorny ones.” Jaime let out an over dramatic yelp and likely jumped the last several feet from the sound of his enthusiastic _oof_. 

Margaery huffed out a sigh. “There is a perfectly functional front door, you both know this.”

“You can have that conversation with her, all we do is go around in circles.”

“That’s so unlike you,” Margaery droned sarcastically as she turned to face him. She _hmm’d_ at Myranda’s gobsmacked expression. “At the very least, take a different route next time, allow the foliage some time to recover. The landscaping shouldn’t have to suffer for your liaisons.”

“Lias- we were studying, Margaery.”

“ _Studying_.”

Jaime grinned broadly. “Who knew there could be such lively debates over fine art?”

“Debates,” Margaery laughed out, then dipped her eyes down and back up. “So it was a debate that left you with your fly down.”

His smile dropped. “No, it’s not.”

“Oh, but it is.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Margaery.”

“I’m an excellent liar, but I have no need for it now. But carry on, please, perhaps little Jaime can pop out and say hello to everyone on your walk home.”

“I’ll show you little-”

“Unnecessary, believe me,” Margaery shot back.

“Do we have a say?” Myranda mumbled behind her. 

Jaime glared at Margaery and she met him, unblinking. 

He glowered, she smirked. 

Several seconds passed and then, with a frustrated groan, Jaime turned his back and checked himself. His shoulders dropped with undisguised relief and Margaery let out a triumphant laugh when he said, “I fucking hate you sometimes, Tyrell.”

“Studying,” Maragery chortled.

“Either way, it was an excellent night, but I have to get back home,” Jaime casually remarked, as if determined to blot out the battle he’d just lost. He put on a roguish smile and pretended to tip an imaginary hat at the other girls. “Ladies, good evening.”

He was soon out of sight, skirting around the backyard. Margaery faced her pledges once again; Leonette was downright tickled, Pia looked tenderly disappointed and Myranda…

“But… that’s Vice-President Tarth’s room,” Myranda said, pointing to the window in question. 

“So it is,” Margaery agreed. 

“Are you… you don’t mean…” Myranda trailed off. 

“I can’t speak for Jaime, but there is one lesson others here can learn tonight,” Margaery said breezily. She stared Myranda down in particular, pleased when the younger girl finally quailed. Two-and-oh made for an altogether satisfying evening. 

“And that, my dears, is the value of _silence_.”


	15. Day 94

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️ Chapter warning in end notes.

Day 94

For all her hesitation regarding moving in with a bunch of girls her age, Brienne had discovered it wasn’t nearly as fraught as she’d been afraid of. It was pleasant most days, even exciting and hilarious on others. 

It was mornings like these that left her on edge. 

Her sisters were joined up in groups at breakfast, exchanging shocked whispers. Brienne kept her head down; she had no intention of asking what was going on, she hoped that it was something as mundane as someone getting a bad haircut, but something in the pit of her stomach warned her otherwise. 

“Brienne!” Elinor plonked onto an adjoining chair. “She was your roommate, right?”

“I don’t have a roommate,” Brienne answered, ever thankful she’d gotten one of the rare singles in the house. 

“No, no, from before, in the dorms.” Elinor thrust out her phone and Brienne felt her eyes bug out and she choked on her juice when she saw what was there. 

“Gods, Elinor!”

“Sorry,” Elinor said sheepishly. “I thought you’d seen it, everyone else has.”

The gnawing sensation went vicious. “ _Everyone?”_

Elinor nodded somberly. “Everyone.”

She abandoned her breakfast without a second thought. Gods, if only she’d known that Margaery had seen the whole thing. Margaery saw _everything_.

Brienne didn’t notice that she had a shadow until she was scanning into the dormitory. One second she was alone and the next Margaery was beside her, observing, “I thought you’d given up the place after you moved in with us.”

Jumping in shock, Brienne gasped out, “For fu- you Tyrells are sneaky as hell.”

Margaery didn’t apologize. She didn’t in general. 

“I sometimes,” Brienne hesitated, searching for an excuse, “I sometimes need alone time, and the room’s paid up until the end of the semester-”

“Let me guess, Taena’s the same?” Margaery opened the building door. “Which room?”

Brienne sighed roughly and told her, hoping all the while that her hunch was incorrect. Of course, she was wrong. Of all days, this one had to be the worst. 

Taena was in their old dorm room, as Brienne had half-dreaded. They’d both left personal items behind and Taena was in the middle of jerking open drawers and stuffing duffle bags full of items. She glanced quickly at them, revealing reddened eyes. Her voice was raw and falsely bold when she asked, “What the hell do you want?”

“I…” Brienne trailed off again, stymied.

“ _I, I..._ ” Taena replied mockingly. “You thought you’d witness it for yourself? Well, I’m not playing. You’ve obviously already seen it, I’m not going to let you bleed me for details.”

“Of course not,” Brienne said in a hurry. It stung, but she kept speaking despite Taena’s disbelieving eyeroll. “I only thought… you might need a friend.”

Taena’s laugh was loud and bitter. “Seems like I’m shit at picking them, not sure why I should bother with you.”

Brienne wished that Margaery would step in, she always found the right thing to say, but her VP was distressingly silent. Brienne glanced around and sighed. “You’re packing up.”

“I sure as hell can’t stay here,” Taena muttered. There was no rhyme or reason to her process and she was taking her aggression out on every t-shirt and knickknack. “What am I going to do, walk around campus the rest of the semester, knowing that everyone I pass likely has my nudes stored on their phone?”

Clenching her eyes shut, Brienne shook her head. “I am so sorry, Taena.”

“Why? It’s not like you did it. It’s not like I didn’t know they were being taken,” she spat out. “That’s the craziest thing. I know exactly who did it and fuck all if I have any power over her.”

“Cersei,” Brienne growled. 

“Got it in one. Of course, there’s a guy in the photos, but _his_ face got conveniently covered, wouldn’t you know? As if it wasn’t something we were all doing together? Just a bit of fun, she said.” Taena slumped and turned her back; her elbows bowed out in each direction as she wiped her face. “I thought he liked me. I thought _she_ liked me. But the moment I decided to have fun with him on my own, _bam_. Everyone gets a very special morning bulletin.”

Brienne reached out. “Taena-”

The other girl twirled, fury etched on her features. “Cersei’s going to realize she fucked up, that she never should’ve messed with me. I’m going to _ruin her._ ”

“And she’ll deserve it,” Brienne said honestly, to Taena’s clear surprise. “All of it, but you can’t leave, Taena. The semester’s nearly done. You do have friends here and we can help.”

Taena laughed again, more harshly. “Gods, you sound just like Sansa, _let me help_ , as if she doesn’t know exactly what Cersei gets up to. But she’s just as powerless as you. Just as much as… me.”

She gathered up her things and shoved past Brienne and Margaery. “My parents are on their way. Gods know what I’m going to tell them.”

“Taena-”

“But trust me, I’m going to find a way, I’m going to make sure everyone knows what a fucking cesspool the Kappa house is if it’s the last thing I do.” 

She left before Brienne could stop her or say goodbye. Brienne dropped into a desk chair to cradle her head in her hands, a wave of failure crashing over her. Could she have stopped this? Could they have stopped it?

Looking up, Brienne asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Margaery studied her, eyes sharp and focused. A cold trickle of unease ran down Brienne’s back. 

“She seemed a woman on a mission,” Margaery answered. “But I have a question, too.”

Brienne felt her breath catch in her chest, knowing intrinsically what was coming and unable to stop it. 

“She’s right, you know. You sounded exactly like her.” Margaery leaned forward. “So tell me, just what the hell are you and Sansa Stark up to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Rule #5 😈)
> 
> ⚠️ Reference to non-explicit mention of revenge porn.


	16. Day 260

Rush 260

“Before we begin, I’d like to extend congratulations to all of you. It’s a privilege to be selected by your peers to be the heads of your houses.” Olenna Tyrell gave them a placid smile. “May you be up to the task, for heavy is the crown.”

“We get crowns?” Jaime asked. “That’s new. Can I put in a request for gold and rubies? Classic _and_ classy.”

“Do restrain yourself, Mr. Lannister, or I’ll make you a gold and ruby muzzle,” Olenna sighed out. 

Jaime shrugged. “Close enough.”

She glared and Jaime traded a smirk with Addam. Olenna ignored them, picking up a sheet and reciting all the names to match those sitting on either side of the table. Bar Epsilon, check. Dire Omega and Beta, check. Same for Lan Sigma and Kappa, River Chi and Delta and so on down the line. 

Margaery beamed when her sorority was called out. Brienne hunched into her chair and Jaime winked as subtly as possible when she quickly glanced his way. Given Margaery’s immediate eye roll, he may not have succeeded. 

Raising her voice to speak over the newly elected presidents and VPs, Olenna said, “I know you have finals to study for, so I’ll make this brief. All of you are expected to arrive on campus one week before classes next semester. There will be a two day orientation and refreshment on Valyrian standards-”

There was a round of groans from the table.

“Now it wouldn’t be necessary if I didn’t continue to hear of bouts of unacceptable hazing within the system,” Olenna chastised them all. “I thought we’d seen the last of it with Aerys out of Targ Alpha, but complaints continue.”

“The worst we did was make our pledges run a car wash,” Renly Baratheon protested. “It may have gotten a bit rambunctious, but it was for charity!”

Addam guffawed. “And were your needs satisfied?”

Renly’s response was cut off by Olenna’s sharp, “Bear in mind, Mr. Bartheon, the only reason you’re president is because your brother was expelled for releasing… untoward images of an underclassman.”

Jaime frowned, well aware that ‘expulsion’ in this case looked more like ‘expedited graduation’ after Robert’s father had shelled out a hefty donation to the school. He followed Olenna’s line of sight to Cersei and Sansa, each of them wearing a cool, serene expression. Cersei had taught her protege well, he had to give her that. 

“Which brings me to Lan Kappa,” Olenna said warningly.

“I cannot fathom what you mean, Madam Tyrell,” Cersei answered. 

Olenna sniffed heartily. “Be that as it may, your sorority has a distressingly high dropout rate. Can you think of any reason why out of every house in this room, yours is the one that chases off the most recruits?”

“I’d hardly call it chasing them off.” Cersei let loose a disbelieving chuckle. “Perhaps they choose to reevaluate their choices after seeing the heights only true Kappas can reach. You can hardly blame us for making them aware of their shortcomings. It’s a service, really.”

“A service,” Olenna said in a bored tone. 

“Mm-hmm.” Cersei hummed it in an eerie tandem with Sansa. 

“Funny you should say that, because I reviewed your community outreach for this past year, Miss Lannister, and it’s rather heavy on the country clubs and museum fundraisers and rather light on the food drives and youth empowerment.”

Cersei’s smile went stiff. 

“Now you may not have the same selfless goals as Mr. Baratheon’s impromptu wet t-shirt contests” - Renly reddened, but laughed all the same - “but I’d like to see some variation in next year’s activities. Try discussing it with Theta, they have quite an eclectic list.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary-” Cersei began as Margaery said, “We would be _happy_ to help-”

Olenna raised her hand and both of them went silent. “Keep me apprised of the situation.”

Cersei was fuming, so Sansa stumbled in with, “Of course, ma’am.”

Olenna gave her a hard look, but Sansa tilted her chin up, a determined expression on her face. Whatever the older woman saw there, she gave a curt nod and moved on to other subjects. Jaime listened with half an ear, counting on Addam to jot down the highlights. 

Mainly he watched Cersei and Sansa whisper at one another whenever Olenna was focused elsewhere; Sansa looked in turns placating and then just as irritated as Cersei. At the meeting's end, Cersei stormed off, but Sansa gathered her things and approached Margaery and Brienne. Jaime hung back, chatting with other presidents as he waited for Brienne to get free, but he doubted he was the only one pretending not to listen in on every word. 

“It seems we’ll have to at least try to get along next year,” Sansa started off, as if everyone else blatantly eavesdropping wasn’t aware of the friction between her and Brienne. 

“We’re capable of putting our differences aside for the greater good, wouldn’t you say, Brienne?” Margaery asked. 

Brienne shifted from foot to foot, awkward and unsure. “Of course.”

“I suppose my house could learn something about relaxed standards and who better to teach us?” Sansa asked. She glanced around as if only barely noticing their audience and cleared her throat. “When shall we begin?”

“No time like the present,” Jaime interjected cheerfully. He walked up and flung an arm around Margaery’s shoulders; she felt absurdly short in comparison to where he’d rather be. “President Tyrell, how does a Thorn and Lan lunch sound? Sansa, you’re welcome to join us, anything to help build bridges. We have a long year ahead of us.”

“Truer words,” Margaery agreed. Her tone was light, but the arm she put around his waist ended in sharp fingernails and Jaime hid a wince when they dug in. “What would we do without you, President Lannister?”

“Starve, most likely.” Jaime wiggled free of her warning, but gods knew he wasn’t going to let Brienne go into this battle unguarded. “So, lunch?”


	17. Sansa I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Invoking Rule #4 (disregard the previous rules in special cases) because, well, this one's a special case.
> 
> ⚠️ Chapter warning in end notes.

**Sansa I**

###### 

Day -365 

Brienne,

Greetings from Westeros University! ☺

I saw this postcard and it reminded me of you. Not that you look like a gothic tower (I think they think it looks regal? I’ve seen it in person and it’s definitely nicer in the picture than in real life.) Anyway, it made me think of all the postcards we’ve traded over the years. I still have the ones you sent from Tarth in a little box in my room at home. The beach scenes are so pretty, I couldn’t bear to toss them. Not that I don’t love your messages, too! Arya, of course, threw Jacquen’s away once he got weird about writing to a girl. I would never do that to you! Do you think anyone else from our grade schools have kept it up as long as we have? I’d like to think so, even if it means we’re not as special for making it this long. Running out of room! I’ll do anemailnexttime!❤️Sansa

###### 

Day -357

**From: StarS@westerosu.edu**

**To: B.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

Brienne, my sunny girl! HOW CUTE IS MY EMAIL ADDRESS?!?! School assigned! It’s a great sign, I must say, and everything has been going so, so well! My classes are going to be such a breeze, it’s all stuff that’s similar that I took last year before I graduated. I’ll be Miss Stark before you know it! Well, I already am Miss Stark, but not to a classroom full of adorable kids, but it’ll happen sooner rather than later!

The BEST news is that I got invited to pledge for a sorority! IT WAS AWESOME, they had a whole bidding thing last week and there were three different ones I could have gone for (my mom was a River Delta, so I could’ve been a legacy there, and since my dad is my dad, I could have gotten into Dire Beta on a technicality) but my heart was set on Lan Kappa and THEY ACCEPTED MY BID!!!! Please don’t tease me, but they have the nicest house out of everyone and all of them are so posh and pretty and aaaaaaah, they’re giving me a chance to join!!!! I haven’t stopped smiling since yesterday, ever since they gathered us all together and sang a welcoming song and UGH. This is going to be the best year ever!

Sorry, making this all about me, sorry sorry sorry. How are you settling in? With school, I mean, I know you’re at home, but is your dad doing all right? You said he'd be walking with a cane by now, right? I’m so glad he’s okay, I know it’s going slowly, but it’s so good to hear that he’s getting better every time I hear from you. At this rate, you’ll get to join us next year - maybe you can pledge Lan Kappa, too! _wink wink nudge nudge_ You’ll have a friend on in the inside if I get past the pledging!

Wish me luck!

Sansa

###### 

Day -341

**From: StarS@westerosu.edu**

**To: B.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

Brienne,

I’m SO sorry, this email is coming so late. Every time I think of you, I’m nowhere near a computer and then when I am, I’m so busy with school work and pledging I know it sounds like a lot of excuses, but you really are on my mind! Just wanted to drop a quick line to say hi and then NO, I will not stop calling you Sunny! I think it’s the cutest nickname and it’s not as if I’m the one who came up with it, your dad did! Who am I to ignore such brilliance? 

<3 Back to the grind. Call me! Or text! Whatever works!

Sansa

###### 

Day -326

**From: StarS@westerosu.edu**

**To: B.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

Sunny B (ha! you’ll have to pry that from my cold, dead hands),

We keep missing each other, UGH. I am fondly remembering when I thought this semester would be easy, but rushing is incredibly time-consuming. But it’s great, it’s so great. 

Classes are good, if a little dull. It’s more repetitious than I thought it would be and I’m kind of feeling… eh about teaching after all. Like, it was what I was thinking of as a kid, but now I have all these possibilities, I’m starting to reconsider. I’ve been having some long talks with the the Kappa VP (her name is Cersei and she’s so sweet and helpful, I was so nervous about talking to her at first, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, it feels like I have a big sister watching out for me - I definitely appreciate her more than Arya does me! Just between us, Cersei should totally be president, but you have to be at least a junior. Everyone knows Cersei will have it next year, it’s not even a question and goodness gracious this a long time to be talking in parentheses).

There. Better.

So! I’m rethinking primary education, but that’s okay. That’s what college is for, to learn and spread our wings and see where we can truly find our best place in the world. It could be political science or broadcast journalism! The possibilities are endless and I don’t have to commit myself to one just yet. 

I’ll try calling you tonight, I finally have a night free and you can tell me everything about your classes and your dad and your application for WU - you’re definitely still coming, right? Please please please! After all this time, I think we’re due finally going to the same school together and there’s so much I want to show you. Maybe you can visit over fall break! Can you imagine, actually hanging out _in person?_ What a novelty! We’ll talk about it tonight.

Sansa

###### 

Day -317

**From: B.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

**To: StarS@westerosu.edu**

Sansa - 

Is everything all right? I had a missed call from you last night and an empty voicemail, but you didn’t answer when I called back. Perhaps it was a butt dial? 

All is well here. Let me know you’re okay, though?

\- Brienne

###### 

Day -303

 **Sansa** : Are you home? 

**Sansa** : I hope you’re home.

 **Sansa** : I need to talk to someone and you always have good advice. 

**Sansa** : Don’t freak out, I’m fine. I’m totally fine.

 **Sansa** : But call me back?

 **Sunny B** : Of course. I’ll be home in half an hour. 

###### 

Day -300

_“Can you talk now?”_

“I don’t know… I don’t. Brienne, I can’t believe- It was so stupid, I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

_“No, Sansa, don’t say that. It’s going to be all right-”_

“You don’t know that.”

_“Then can you tell me? There’s only so much I can say to help if you don’t tell me what’s going on. I thought things were going well, you seemed so excited.”_

“I was- hold on, let me get back into the dorm, oh thank the gods, my roommate’s out.”

“ _All right.”_

“Okay, so… oh gods, I don’t even know where to start. It was going well, but Halloween-”

“ _What_ happened, _Sansa?”_

“Nothing bad, I know what you’re thinking. We were only… after the party, us girls were all hanging out in the Kappa house, you know? We do that a lot, all the pledges, making time with the upperclassmen, so they know who we are and it’ll give us a better shot at getting in- it doesn't matter. I wish I’d gone back to the dorms, I should have.”

“ _Okay._ ”

“We started goofing off and someone brought out these… things. Like, you know, adult stuff.”

“ _Oh._ ”

“It was a riot, we were all a little tipsy and joking around and they put out a challenge, like a race between all of us, well, not a race, but like a show of skills? You get what I mean.”

“... _Sorry, I can’t say that I do._ ”

“...”

“ _I don’t understand, Sansa, you cut out for a second.”_

“I said they had us simulate blow jobs, _okay_?”

“ _Whoa._ ”

“It was _funny_ or at least it was funny at first, I don’t know. Then halfway through it I realized that a couple of the older girls had their phones out.”

“ _WHAT_?”

“They said it wasn’t a big deal, it was only so we could see how we did and they could give us pointers, it made sense when Cersei said it, but the next day she sent me this text with the video attached and ever since then she’s just been… weird. Like, having me do stuff as a pledge that I’m not totally comfortable with? She’s been having us flirt with these random guys and then shutting them down when they ask us out. When I asked if I really had to do it, she said something like, _it’ll blow their minds that you’re even talking to them, Sansa_ , like it’s a gift to get rejected or something.”

“ _Sansa, that’s not good._ ”

“I know, B, believe me, I know.”

“ _If they’re not as great as you thought they were, maybe dropping out of pledging is the best thing? You still have the other options, right?_ ”

“You’d think so, but I don’t think it works that way. I’m starting to get the feeling that you don’t walk out on Kappa if you know what’s good for you. The best option I have is to wait a couple weeks until pledging is over. Maybe if I hang back a little bit, or I don’t carry out what she- they want, maybe they’ll reject my pledge and I’ll be done with them.”

“ _That’s the best option?_ ”

“It’s all I can think of for now. Maybe they’re just ramping it up because pledging is almost done? Maybe it’ll be better after this part.”

###### 

Day -288

“ _Sansa... Sansa. Please, SANSA, I can barely understand you. Please calm down, you need to breathe._ ”

“...I- I got in.”

“ _Oh, no._ ”

“I know.”

“ _Sansa_ -”

“I don’t- Brienne, what am I going to do?”

###### 

Day -254

Brienne,

I know I’ve been radio silent for a while, I’m sorry, but I’ve had a lot on my mind. At home now anyway. Thank you for letting me get everything out when we talked, even if it was just a bunch of me crying. I guess I’m still trying to decide what to do. I mentioned to my mom about maybe not going back next semester, but she said only over her dead body. 

I don’t know how I’m going to live in that house. It’s like, all I see now is how everyone is always on guard with everyone else. Like they’re keeping all these secrets, for each other and against each other and I’m feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of going back in. I can’t believe I thought they were so nice, that Cersei was so great, she’s the worst of them all. She still makes all these innuendos and I’m starting to realize she has dirt on _everybody_. Melara, the (oh gods, our) president, does whatever Cersei wants, I can’t even guess what Cersei has on her. 

Can you believe that I was going to change my major because she suggested it? TO METEOROLOGY? Are you kidding me? Oh, there goes Weather Girl Sansa, all winter is coming. What a fucking joke.

I’m sorry, I’m still processing. Hardly a Sevenmas mood, but there you have it. I hope you’re well. 

Sansa

P.S. I know it’s a weird thing to ask, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of this to anyone? Like, I know, who would you tell? But it’d make me feel a lot better to know that this won’t go any further. I got myself into this mess, I’ll just have to figure out how to get myself out. Sorry for dragging you in this much already. Happy Sevenmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️ Chapter content warning for seniority, bullying and suggestive blackmail material.


	18. Day 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a busy week in the Rush world. First, I upped the rating and applied chapter warnings, for reasons I explained [here](https://samirant.tumblr.com/post/623812562326323200/on-a-serious-note-regarding-rush-me-all-night). There was also a question as to what I meant by my rules and challenges, so they are detailed [here](https://samirant.tumblr.com/post/623833318424723456/hey-sami-there-has-been-a-lot-of-talk-cough). 
> 
> But - most thrillingly - the marvelous, brilliant and incomparable NaomiGnome put together [a slideshow of the story up until this point](https://naomignome.tumblr.com/post/623888393560113152/i-made-another-slideshow). It had me laughing like a lunatic and does the _very_ kind favor of putting the story in order for everyone that I’ve left completely confused. By all means, go take a look at it first and laugh your ass off, because it is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and I can hardly believe it was done for my story. Thank you, Naomi, for sharing your insane and hilarious skills with us.

Day 22

Jeyne was trembling. 

It didn’t make sense. She was safe inside the Thorn house, surrounded by fellow pledges. The melee had died down as far as they knew and most were still chattering feverishly about the turn the evening had taken. Jeyne sat on the sofa, silent with Brienne and Meera on either side.

It helped when Meera put one of Jeyne’s hands between her warm ones, stroking gently. Brienne looked as if she wondered if she should, too; Jeyne gave her a weak smile and tilted her temple onto Brienne’s broad shoulder. 

“Do you- did he really-” Jeyne stopped. Perhaps that’s what made her insides roil. Nothing happened, but something could have and the uncertainty was almost as bad. 

Brienne released a small, reluctant huff. “It was suspicious. I didn’t want to chance it otherwise.”

“He called you an awful name.”

“No worse than I’ve heard before.”

She did that, Brienne. She acted as if she was tough, through-and-through, that no one could touch her, but in the moment before Jeyne threw her drink in that awful boy’s face, she’d felt how Brienne’s spine had gone stiff at the insult. Brienne’s surprised expression after Jeyne had come to her defense was even more heartbreaking. 

“Thank you, Brienne,” Jeyne said quietly.

Brienne merely nodded. 

Margaery, Dacey and others delivered blankets and pillows to the living room, seemingly having decided that it was late enough that everyone should stay in the house. They were parsing out items when the doorbell rang and Dacey answered it.

Jaime Lannister was at the door, looking worse for wear with his rumpled shirt torn at the sleeve and a large bruise forming on his jaw. 

“Just checking in,” Jaime said, looking far more serious than normal. He usually had a rakish grin on his face, an air that said he couldn’t give less of a damn about anyone’s opinion. In this instant, however, he was all gravity. “Everyone all right?”

“A little shaken, but we’re settling down,” Dacey answered. “I could ask you the same.”

Jaime touched his jaw when Dacey pointed at it. “Friendly fire, if you can believe it.”

Dacey’s eyebrows popped high. “Yeah?”

“One of the gatecrashers made a move on a Kappa pledge. Girl looks soft, but she’s a beserker, he was sorry to have tried. I had to pull her off him and got a knee to the face.”

“A girl beat up Jaime Lannister.” Dacey sounded impressed. “Gods, I hate that I missed it.”

“Pretty sure Bronn’s in love,” Jaime replied with a low chuckle. 

“Someone should warn her the campus clinic will probably rename themselves in his honor once he graduates.”

“Never thought someone would get the tenth free visit on the punch card, but Bronn aims high.” Jaime looked past Dacey to everyone in the living room and went serious again. “Can I talk to her real quick?”

Dacey stepped back from the door and everyone who wasn’t already eavesdropping went quiet. Jeyne felt a thrill of nervousness run through her when Jaime went straight toward her. He dithered when he stopped before her, finally deciding to drop down to one knee. Jeyne stared at him, slowly sitting straight. Meera held her hand even tighter.

“Are you all right?” Jaime asked quietly. 

“I…” Jeyne breathed out. Finally, honestly: “I don’t know.”

“Jeyne, yeah?” He asked, and she nodded. “Jeyne, I never should have let those guys stay and I wanted to apologize for that.”

“You couldn’t have known-”

“No, but it's our duty as your brothers to have your back and I fell short of that. I’m glad someone else stepped in for you, but we’re not letting it end there.” He glanced quickly at the girls on either side of her, then back at Dacey before returning to Jeyne. “We called security on Connington and the rest of them. I don’t know if Connington had something on him at the party, but they searched his room and whatever they found there - well, it was enough that the dean got called.”

“Oh,” Jeyne murmured. 

“Best case scenario, he gets suspended or expelled. Either way, I want you to know that if _anything_ happens, if anyone makes you uncomfortable, you can come to the Sigmas. Shit like this won’t stand with us and we want to make sure you feel safe.”

It was so unlike her, but Jeyne burst forward to give him a hug, nearly bowling Jaime over. He caught her and patted the back of her head and made some unsure humming noises, but didn’t let go until Jeyne did. 

“Thank you,” Jeyne told him, faintly embarrassed by her reaction. Jaime’s mouth just quirked up on one side and he stood when she was back in her seat. 

He seemed to realize his audience and looked strangely awkward. “That goes for everyone else, obviously - whether you already have a mean right hook or not.” He gestured toward the sofa and Brienne mumbled something under her breath. “If you need the Sigmas, we’ll be there.”

“We appreciate that,” Dacey told him. She guided him to the door, speaking too softly for anyone else to hear; they both looked back toward the sofa and Jeyne ducked her head down, embarrassed all over again. 

Once he was gone, the chatter resumed, the excitement over the fight peppered in with shameless swooning over the Sigma VP.

“It was nice,” Jeyne said when they asked if his hug felt as heavenly as it looked. “He’s nice.”

Hardly satisfied, the rest of the girls resumed their gossip, but Brienne said, “I didn’t… expect that.”

“Truth,” Meera agreed. She retrieved a pillow and blanket and encouraged Jeyne to lay down; both she and Brienne took the floor. “He’s an enigma, that Jaime.”

“No, he’s not,” Jeyne said on a yawn. Her shakiness had so quickly given way to exhaustion. “He’s our brother. Brothers protect their sisters.”

Brienne said something else, but Jeyne was already falling headlong into sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As ever, <3s to Slips, Nire, Fire_Sign & Luthien.


	19. Sansa II

**Sansa II**

Day -223

**To: StarsS@westerosu.edu**

**From: B.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

B - 

I get it, you’re worried, but I’m _fine_. It’s not better, but it’s not worse, either. I’m handling it.

\- S

P.S. Hope you and your dad are doing okay.

###### 

Day -200

**Sansa** : I feel like I have two mothers now, one in Winterfell and the other on Tarth.

**Sansa** : I’m not going to say it’s annoying.

**Sansa** : But I’m not NOT saying that.

**Sansa** : I need to figure this out on my own, okay?

###### 

Day -186

Brienne,

You’re right, I’m not fine.

Just when I think I have it figured out, how to get by unnoticed, the rules change on me. It’s frustrating as all hells and I may end up going insane, but that’s something to look forward to! Nice change of pace, find a padded room so I can scream and scream and I’ll feel so much better.

I met someone. He was really, well, not nice, exactly. He was real, though. Everyone in the sorority keeps getting paraded around these formal dinners and fundraising galas and it is _insufferable_. I have to dress teh right way, smile the right way, because gods forbid that we don’t look like utter perfection all. The Time. 

Anyway, he’s a townie and only coming part time to school and he works on the grounds crew. I’d walk by him on the way to class and we would talk for a bit and it was the closest I’ve come to feeling normal in a while. . Of course The Powers That Be found out somehow and now he won’t talk to me at all. I don’t know what they said to him, but no matter what I do, he just says that he’s busy and goes off somewhere else. 

Apparently if Cersei can’t get what she wants, no one else can. But OH, this did cheer me up. I don’t know if I said, but we have brother fraternities? Or we’re supposed to have one, but there was a whole thing during first term where Cersei pushed really hard to change from our old brothers to Targ Alpha because she had the total hots for their president even though he had a Pixie girlfriend(pixies are another frat/sorority, not the point). ANYWAY we changed to them and then over winter break, Rhaegar ran off with some other girl who’s not even his girlfriend! dRaMa Total dick move - the girl is in high school! HIGH SCHOOL. Like, she’s 18 but she was taking some college courses during her senior year and that’s how they met and he totally lost his head and now they’re off in Essos or something and everyone is pissed. ESPECIALLY CERSEI 

NglI love it. I love it so much. Karma is the best sometimes. 

It's still super gross, running away with a girl that’s so much younger abd STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. I know I already said that but ugh. Even Cersei Lannister could do better than trash like that, but like, b a r e l y. If I’ve learned anything, though, it’s that Cersei lives in her own little world where the rules only make sense to her. I’m learning them, though, how to stay under the radar, how to make her happy by saying what she wants me to say and keeping what I really think to myself. I just wish Sandor hadn’t gotten burned by it. That’s his name, Sandor. I hope we can talk again someday, even if it’s just to be friends, it seemed like he didn’t ahve a lot of them.

All this to say, I’m fine but I’m not fine. I didn’t think school would be like this and I’m still looking into maybe transferring somewhere else next year, closer to home. I’m not the first one to think it, I heard other new Kappas saying the same the other day. Lan Kappa will probably end up a ghost town, just like Targ Alpha (nobody wanted to be president after Rhaegar left, i heard that some other stuff happened last year and they were already on probation? Nobody talks about it any more than that. The frat basically scattered and we don’t have a brother frat at all anymore and ‘Melara’ is too proud to ask for Lan Sigma to take us back. Too bad, so sad.)

It would have been fun to go to the same school with you, but it doesn’t look like it’s in the cards. The worst part about it is that I think I could have really loved staying here otherwise, it’s a great school and (I’m sorry to say) the North Wall education training program isn’t nearly as strong. But as long as Cersei runs things, no one is safe. All I can do is hope that she forgets me and leaves me be until the end of time.

Hope this helps you stop worrying so much, _mom_. :)

Sansa

###### 

Day -185

**Sunny B** : I can’t believe one awful person would stop you from being where you want to be, that stops you from getting the education you deserve.

**Sansa** : It’s not just her. 

**Sansa** : It’s hard to trust anyone anymore. 

**Sansa** : All we do is socialize with other frats and sororities and who knows if they’re just as bad, you know? The Dires have to be okay but it’s the worst feeling that I’m still not sure. I keep finding myself watching everyone else, waiting for them to turn the instant they don’t get what they want. 

**Sansa** : So the only person I can speak to honestly about this is hundreds of miles away.

**Sansa** : You, obvs.

**Sunny B** : Don’t you have a brother going there?

**Sansa** : And have him blow a gasket when he hears what’s going on? I don’t think so.

###### 

Day -150

**Sansa** : I feel like I’m in a spy movie. Today Cersei saw me texting and asked-but-didn’t-ask who I was talking to.

**Sansa** : Congratulations, you are now Sunny Storm, my old friend from summer camp, who is on the other side of the Narrow Sea because you decided school wasn’t your thing.

**Sunny Storm** : Very funny.

**Sansa** : It was the best I could come up with! Otherwise she’d probably set a private investigator on your scent. Maybe. Might be overexaggerating.

**Sunny Storm** : Doesn’t seem like you could when it comes to her.

**Sansa** : Probs not. 

**Sansa** : But she bought it. Said “no wonder, with a name like that, it’s like her parents WANTED her to be a stripper”.

**Sansa** : So shake that money maker, bb.

**Sunny Storm** : This is not nearly as funny as you think it is.

**Sansa** : Aw, come on, give me this, I needed the laugh. There are worse names in the world.

**Sunny Storm** : Let me know when you come up with one.

**Sansa** : …

**Sunny Storm** : I didn’t think so.

###### 

Day -111

**From: Brienne.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

**To: StarS@westerosu.edu**

Sansa,

I have to say it. This is really wrong. One person shouldn’t be able to dictate how you live your life or the choices you make. I understand you feel you’ll be free once you leave WU, but you’d still be playing by her rules. 

There has to be another way.

Brienne

\---

**From: StarS@westerosu.edu**

**To: Brienne.K.Tarth@stormmail.com**

She got a stranglehold on the place, Sunny B. There’s no way I can change that.

Sansa

\---

**Sunny Storm** : What if I helped?

###### 

Day -90

**Sansa** : We’d never be able to hang out. They’d wonder how we know each other and how much you know.

**Sunny Storm** : We’ve managed to keep our friendship up this long without ever being in the same part of the country. It’ll keep. 

###### 

Day -87

**Sansa** : I don’t want you to go there just to save me. You should be able to enjoy being at college.

**Sunny Storm** : So should you.

###### 

Day -85

**Sansa** : Once I’m out, I’m out. I don’t have to worry about her ever again.

**Sunny Storm** : I know you, Sansa. Yes, you will.

###### 

Day -84

**Sansa** : Mom asked me where she should send my tuition check.

**Sunny Storm** : It’s your call.

**Sansa** : Are you sure you want to do this?

**Sansa** : Really, REALLY SURE?

“Oh. Hey.”

“ _Just tell me, Sansa, if you could find a way to stop her. If you **could** stop her, would you do it?_”

“In a heartbeat.”

“...”

“Oh gods, I have to do it, don’t I?”

“ _You have to do what is right for you. If completely walking away is it, I support you… but that’s one thing you haven’t said, that you don’t care. Can you tell me that?_ ”

“...I can’t. I can’t stand the thought of her doing this to someone else, of having free reign for two more years. She’s the actual president now and every single girl that comes next, they’ll be just as clueless as I was, they’ll be just as hurt or worse and you’re right- fuck, you’re right, I can’t. I can’t say I don’t care. It’s just _a lot_. Where would we even start?”

“ _I guess the first step would be to figure out if it’s just a Cersei thing or not. Stuff like this can be systemic._ ”

“You sound like you’re ready to tear it all down.”

“ _If I have to, to keep anyone else from getting hurt. I can’t be there and do anything different. I can’t unknow all this and that means I can’t sit back and do nothing_.”

“You’d totally do this on your own anyway, wouldn’t you?”

“ _If I had to._ ”

“...”

“...”

“You won’t be alone, Brienne. I’m in.”

###### 

Day -47

“Okay, here’s what I’m thinking. You’ll have to aim for the Thorns. Theta Rho Nu.”

“ _Theta Rho Nu, all right. Why them?_ ”

“I want to believe the Dires and Rivers don’t have the same issues Kappa does but the Thorns are our biggest rivals. If anyone is for sure pulling the same kind of bullshit, it’s them.”

“ _Any place that willingly calls themselves The Thorns are probably proud of a lot of things they shouldn’t be._ ”

“I kind of know their new president, she went to high school with my brother. She could be all right but they never hang out when they’re back here so I really don’t know. It’s the new VP I’m concerned about, Margaery Tyrell. She’s one of those… you know those people where you just _know_ that they think they’re smarter than you?”

“ _All too well._ ”

“That’s Margaery. She’s only the VP but we both know the damage Cersei did in the same position. I wouldn’t put it past Margaery to be the same.”

“ _And if she’s not?_ ”

“Then it depends on if I’m able to do my part and find any chinks in Cersei’s armor, see if I can track down where she’s hidden away all the shit she has on people so she can’t use it. And I’ll do whatever I can to keep whoever does rush safe, maybe convince them to stay away from Kappa in the first place. You’ll be surprised how convincing of a bitch I can be.”

“ _All else fails, emulate Cersei?_ ”

“You got it.”

“ _I have to say… I thought I’d be doing more. It sounds like a lot of watching and waiting if the Thorns turn out to be okay._ ”

“If they’re not, you’ll be in a better position than on the outside.”

“ _Hardly a position that helps you, though._ ”

“...Brienne, this part is on me. If I’d tried I could have gotten something done second semester but instead I just stuck my head in the sand. You’re the one that made me realize that by sitting back, I was staying safe - but I wasn’t helping anyone else either. I can’t do that anymore.”

“ _I know, but-_ ”

“And knowing I have a friend on campus, an actual friend, even if we can’t hang out or study or whatever… I already feel better knowing you’ll be there, that you’re on my side.”

“ _I still think you should tell your brother._ ”

“Please, he’d convince my mom to send me to NWU and probably blunder everything and absolutely nothing would change. No, it needs to be me, just me.”

“ _Us, Sansa. Me and you.”_

“A two woman battalion. If they knew what was good for them, they’d be shaking in their boots.”

###### 

Day -5

**Sunny Storm** : On campus. 

**Sunny Storm** : You’re right, that tower is a lot uglier in person. 

**Sansa** : you’re so close and still so far away ;-;

**Sunny Storm** : Shit. 

**Sunny Storm** : You’re still Sansa in my phone. If someone sees it they’re going to wonder. 

**Sunny Storm** : I’ll have to come up with something else. 

**Alayne Stone** : So what did you go with?

###### 

Day -2

**From: TartB@westerosu.edu**

**To: StarS@westerosu.edu**

S-

Orientation is over and the biggest takeaway is that I finally found a name worse than Sunny Storm.

-B

….

From: StarS@westerosu.edu

To: TartB@westerosu.edu

B - 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

-S

###### 

Day -1

**Alayne Stone** : Last chance to back out.

**Sunny Storm** : Not happening. 

###### 

Day 1

**Sunny Storm** : We’ve had all these discussions about sororities and how to do my best to get in, how to act and play their game...

**Sunny Storm** : You could have stuck in a warning that frat guys are complete assholes.

**Alayne Stone** : What happened?

**Sunny Storm** : Nothing worth discussing. 

**Sunny Storm** : But I did it. I went to the mixer and signed up.

**Alayne Stone** : You ready?

**Sunny Storm** : I’m ready.

**Sunny Storm** : Let’s do this.


	20. Day 136

Day 136

Every River, both Chi and Delta, was giving him the stink eye. Robb had never experienced anything like it, such blatant disappointment. 

_Three months!_ He wanted to yell. _We were only together three months, who the hell proposes after_ three _months?!_

He’d been able to say it the night before classes started, when he and Dacey had gone for a beer and she heard the whole woebegotten tale of the Westerling family at Sevenmas. If he’d known that they’d expected him to get down on one knee in front of them and the gods and everyone else - _after only three months_ \- instead of offering a neatly wrapped, perfectly acceptable winter jacket...

Dacey laughed so hard that she snorted her beer and then yelled at him because it burned her nose. 

_That’s your problem_ , _Robb,_ she told him while they cleaned up the mess on the table. _You don’t know how to be single. You always find a girl and act like they’re the center of your world - what else would they expect?_

Robb had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that she had a point. At least Dacey was kinder about it than Jeyne’s River siblings. There were, however, more pressing matters at hand.

He was shoulder-checked by a Chi when he walked inside the dining hall; Robb let it pass, instead searching the room until he found her, tucked away in a booth with a sandwich in one hand and book under the other. 

“Hey, can we talk?” He watched it take a moment for Brienne to realize he was speaking to her and then her eyes went wide. Robb sat opposite her and gave a bracing smile. “I’m guessing Sansa warned you.”

“She did,” Brienne replied. She glanced mournfully at the sandwich, putting it down with far more reluctance than a few slices of deli meat deserved. The look she gave him was all apologies. “I told her to tell you. Repeatedly.”

Frustrated, Robb sighed. “I guess since Margaery broke the seal on that, she decided it was time to tell me what she’s been going through. I can’t believe she hid what Cer-”

Brienne swiped her hand through the air. Robb rolled his eyes and leaned forward, only to find that his half of the table was sticky. Between that and Brienne’s silent plea for stealth, Robb changed sides, sliding in next to her and leaning in. “None of it should have happened.”

‘Well it did,” Brienne said shortly. “I’m sorry she didn’t tell you, but it’s-”

“Her fight, I know,” Robb finished for her. Sansa had said it enough times, blockading him at every step when he offered to help or insisted that they tell their parents or… _something_. 

“She’s been really brave, Robb,” Brienne told him. “The things Cersei does, what Sansa’s been able to navigate so it’s not so bad for anyone else, you should be proud of her.”

“I’d rather she were home and safe,” Robb retorted.

Brienne shook her head. “That’s why she didn’t tell you. What could she do for anybody from home? She beating herself up enough about the whole thing with Taena-”

Robb frowned. “I heard that was Bobby B.”

The unimpressed expression Brienne leveled at him put every River to shame. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. “ _Fuck._ ”

“Yeah.”

They were silent for a few seconds, deep in their own thoughts, or at least Robb was and he jumped when a pair of knuckles rapped on the table. Brienne startled, too, when Jaime Lannister spoke from next to the booth. “Well, aren’t we looking cozy.”

Robb glanced at Brienne, but she only shifted to stare at her sandwich. 

“Saw you out with Dacey and now another Thorn?” Jaime let loose a big, bright, bullshit grin. His resemblance to Cersei was never stronger and it made something slice through Robb’s chest, his anger sprang forward so quickly. “You Dires aren’t trying to snake some sisters out from under the Sigmas, are you?”

“And if we are?” Robb hardened his jaw, wondering what Jaime knew, if he knew, what he’d done about it, if he’d done nothing at all. “What’s it to you?”

“I guess… nothing,” Jaime said lightly. He flicked his eyes to Brienne and back to Robb. “The Thorns can do whatever they like. Just don’t keep Tarth out too late, she has lots of studying to do. Very studious, this one. Hate to see her get too distracted.”

Robb waved his hand, attempting flippancy. “Yeah, sure, I’ll get her home before curfew, dad.”

Jaime stared at them for another uncomfortable lull - no more than a second or two - enough that it almost made Robb want to squirm in his seat. Then he was gone and Robb let out the breath he’d been inadvertently holding. 

“Fuck, I hope he didn’t hear anything,” Robb muttered.

Brienne kept staring down, blinking her eyes very quickly. Her cheeks had gone blotchy red.

Robb scrambled to reassure her. “No, it’s all right. If he causes trouble, we’ve got you, I promise.”

“No, he’s all right,” Brienne said quietly. “He’s an okay guy. I don’t think he- if he knows anything, he’s really good at hiding it.”

“I think the only thing we can trust from a Lannister is how much they're able to hide,” Robb disagreed. 

Brienne took a deep breath and sighed out, “Maybe.”

“Look, I’ve got class, but Sansa’s letting me help a _little_.” He grabbed Brienne’s phone and started putting his number in after she unlocked it. “If you guys need a place to meet up or even just want to pass on a message, let me know, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Brienne finally looked up and gave him a small smile. “I’m glad she told you.”

“I’m glad she has a friend like you,” Robb said back. “This is like, above and beyond. So thank you.”

Brienne wasn’t particularly - or at all - pretty, but her smile grew bigger when he said that. It brightened her eyes even. Robb smiled back and didn’t realize until about halfway through class that he still hadn’t gotten it out of his head. 


	21. Day 89

Day 89

Jaime: today i saw a walking pillar of rage in the middle of the quad 

Jaime: turns out is was you

Jaime: you have a very impressive stomp 

Brienne: Let me guess, the ground was quaking. Thanks. 

Jaime: no no no

Jaime: your stride was very purposeful is what i’m saying 

Jaime: dont put words in my mouth

Jaime: or Iguess texts in my phone

Brienne: fine. 

Jaime: damn I felt that

Brienne: What?

Jaime: Fine. blam

Brienne: I just said fine. 

Jaime: and i bet youre frowning real hard don’t lie

Brienne: No I’m not. 

Jaime: totally are

Brienne: Did you sneak a camera into my room or something? 

Jaime: not saying but your room is a mess 

Jaime: get to cleanin

Jaime: work off that fury

Jaime: i can help if you want

Brienne: Okay you’ve definitely never seen my room if you think it’s a mess. Or anyone’s in Theta for that matter. 

Jaime: all right ill help you toss some stuff around

Brienne: It’s a basic Thorn rule, everything has to be tidy at all times. 

Jaime: not all times surely

Brienne: Dacey’s mom was in the military and Margaery had to make her stop carrying a ruler and stag around, but the lesson stuck. 

Jaime: i feel we are having two v diff convos

Brienne: What?

Jaime: what 

Brienne: you are very strange

Jaime: agree to disagree

Jaime: so why were you so pissed earlier 

Jaime: brieeeeeeeeeene

Jaime: ican do this all night

Jaime: brienne brienne brienne 

Jaime: i can call too

Brienne: Don’t call. I’m trying to focus. 

Jaime: is that your way of saying that im distracting

Brienne: …

Jaime: you dont have to your silence is confirmation enough

Jaime: brb gonna do a victory run down the row

Brienne: Good, that means I can actually work on my project without my phone constantly going off. 

Jaime: aaaand im back 

Brienne: That was literally five seconds.

Jaime: i am v fast

Jaime: what project

Brienne: If I tell you, can I have some peace and quiet so I can work?

Jaime: make no promises but lets give it a shot

Brienne: It’s a stupid diorama for History of Westeros. I did the paper and my partners were supposed to do the visuals and one of them completely flaked, which I should have expected because he’s entirely worthless and for some reason the other has gone missing in action when he said he’d be here an hour ago to help finish.

Brienne: So I’m stuck doing it on my own and that’s why I was angry. 

Jaime: understood

Jaime: group projects are the ducking worst

Jaime: dont censor me autocorrect i am who i am 

Jaime: FUCKING worst

Brienne: Are you talking to me or autocorrect?

Jaime: can i not do both at once

Jaime: ?

Brienne: And a stray punctuation is noted on the horizon. 

Jaime: youd get along great with my brother 

Brienne: Can I get back to my project now? 

Jaime: who are the partners

Brienne: Apparently not. 

Brienne: Fine. (I’m not frowning.) The one who didn’t do anything was Hyle Hunt. You might remember him, he was with those guys that crashed the party. 

Jaime: doesnt ring a bell 

Brienne: Brown hair? Brown eyes? About, I don’t know, Margaery’s height?

Jaime: not a clue

Brienne: He’s the only one that didn’t get suspended or expelled because they had him on video running away from the fight when it started. 

Jaime: sounds like a winner

Jaime: howd you end up with that paragon of bravery in your group

Brienne: Our professor assigned the groups.

Brienne: I dealt with him fine because I knew I could count on Pod but now he’s not answering his phone.

Jaime: pod

Jaime: podrick payne?

Jaime: pledge podrick payne?

Jaime: polite pledge podrick payne?

Jaime: …

Jaime: Brienne?

Brienne: Oh, I was waiting for you to get that out of your system. Yes, that Pod. 

Jaime: you wound me

Jaime: and i couldve solved your polite pledge podrick paybe problem perfectly

Brienne: ???

Jaime: bronn gathered them up a couple hours ago theyre outside

Jaime: he does that on occasion 

Brienne: Takes them outside? 

Jaime: remembers that hes prez

Jaime: gets it into his head to bond but its mostly bc he just got dumped and wants to stay busy

Jaime: you didnt hear that from me

Brienne: Okay?

Jaime: brb

Jaime: okay reinforcements in route

Jaime: i repeat pedestrian podrick payne puttering

Jaime: fuck it pods on his way

Brienne: Really?

Brienne: Wow.

Brienne: Thank you. 

Jaime: i take any and all forms of payment

Jaime: that reads a lot grosser than i meant 

Jaime: youre welcome

Brienne: Give me a few, I need to move everything downstairs before he gets here.

Jaime: no guys allowed in your rooms?

Brienne: Not after nine.

Jaime: thetas and their rules

Brienne: They’re not hard to follow. Clean rooms, keep the common areas tidy, gpa over 3.7 at all times. 

Jaime: 37

Jaime: !!!!!

Brienne: Yeah, probation between 3.3 and 3.6 and we’re not invited back if it goes below that.

Jaime: damn

Jaime: i knew dacey was hardcore but shit

Brienne: As far as I know, it’s been like this for years.

Jaime: respect

Jaime: it’s 3-2 here and you might get smacked up the head if it hits 2-5 but thats pretty much it

Jaime: i thought the kappas had it rough with 3-4

Brienne: I imagine they have other concerns.

Jaime: Brienne. Tarth.

Jaime: was that just a hint of sarcasm

Brienne: No.

Jaime: IT WAS

Brienne: Look, Pod’s here, I have to get to work.

Jaime: dont worry i wont tell anyone about this super secret sarcastic side of you

Brienne: And WHY did Bronn keep the pledges busy tonight?

Jaime: …

Jaime: good luck with your project

Jaime: 👍🏻 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hugs to you. Yes, you know who you are.


	22. Day 319

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For NaomiGnome and her willingness to give into my whims and supply this edited meme: 
> 
> NO SAD WANKS HERE, NO SER

Day 319

No one told her how __messy__ it could be.

Margaery had stuffed a handful of condoms into Brienne’s bag and Dacey had imparted some final, ear-burning wisdom before she graduated; they likely thought they were being helpful, but at least one of them could have given her a heads up to put down a towel or something because sex… sex was messy as all hells. 

Brienne laughed quietly, remembering the utterly confused look on Jaime’s face as he tried to figure out which corners of the sheets went on the mattress to replace the set they’d thoroughly debauched. She stood in the shower now, washing off the sweat and stickiness that had, well, that had come along with their private afternoon. It wouldn’t be a lie to call her still a bit shell-shocked, though from the moment Jaime said his brother and father would be out until late that evening, they’d both known exactly where things were heading. 

Besides the dripping sweat and strange noises, Brienne hadn’t known it could also be fun, even when it was awkward - Jaime trying his best not to squish her, the way her heels slipped against the too-smooth sheets, attempts to kiss interrupted by needy gasps of air. They’d broken apart, laughing and embarrassed time and again, but always in tandem before greedily diving back in. 

She grinned to herself, bashful even when there was no one to see, but then a chilly draft of air made her nearly jump out of her skin and yelp, “Jaime? Get out!”

Jaime did no such thing - that was no surprise, of course he wouldn’t - and closed the shower door behind himself. Brienne kept her eyes trained on his face, never mind that she’d spent the better part of the afternoon getting _very_ familiar with everything below her line of sight. 

“Budge over, will you?” He dipped his head forward to let the water run over his hair, flattening it down entirely. It was a ridiculously fancy shower, full of knobs and multiple spigots and what looked like speakers in the walls, but Brienne had only poked and prodded long enough to get a single stream. 

She inched over so that Jaime could stand underneath and he momentarily scrubbed at his head, then stopped and gave her a very serious look. “Brienne?”

It was stupid to feel nervous, but she draped an arm over her chest and clenched her thighs together as if to hide that which he’d also become well-acquainted. “Yes?”

He reached past her, pressing buttons while holding her gaze. A second later, three more streams of water hit them and Brienne gave a deep rumble of appreciation. Jaime’s smile went sharper when he heard it and then they were plastered together, Jaime’s lips on hers and Brienne blissfully smiled and then inhaled some water and coughed, directly into Jaime’s mouth. 

Slapping her hand to her chest, Brienne tried to stop, but it was a rebellious tickle in the back of her throat and she sputtered and wheezed through a few different exhales, while in short order Jaime looked surprised, offended and finally began laughing so hard he almost choked, too. 

It took some effort to catch her breath and when she did, Brienne was certain that water was steaming off her face, so fiery was her horrified blush.

“That” - Jaime hacked out another cough, uselessly running his palm over his face, a deluge of water replacing everything he tried to wipe away - “was not what I meant to happen.”

Brienne clamped her mouth shut for fear of another gaffe. 

“I was trying to be romantic,” Jaime explained. “Sexy even. No one hacks up a lung in the movies.”

That was enough to break her silence and Brienne scolded him with, “I told you-”

“-stop trying so hard, yeah, yeah.” Jaime placed his hands each side of her face and kissed the tip of her nose. “Can’t help it, you bring out the stupid romantic in me.”

“You said it, not me,” Brienne muttered and held her breath as Jaime added a peck on her lips.

She forgot to be shy about being wet and naked in the face of Jaime’s antics and soon was chuckling when they broke out the shampoo. Brienne rustled his hair into a mass of bubbles, swooping them up into a spike. He did something similar, his fingertips doing little swirls in her hair until she probably looked like a hedgehog. 

Jaime was entirely beautiful, tilting his head back so she could wash the shampoo out. He’d wrapped his arm around her waist, making it so no water could sluice between them and she felt the hum in his chest when she massaged her fingers in. When she was done, Jaime pulled her closer so that he could hook his chin over her shoulder and they both sighed. 

He started moving, a minute sway that Brienne’s body answered in kind. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and dropped her ear against the crook of his neck. 

“Brienne.” He sounded serious again and her mouth went dry. “Earlier, when-”

“It’s okay,” Brienne murmured. “It just came out, don’t worry-”

“I’m not worried, I’m fucking thrilled.” Jaime laid a lingering kiss on her shoulder. “If I hadn’t been in the middle of something very important, I would have said it back. I meant to say it __first.__ ”

“Oh,” Brienne whispered. 

He edged back, just enough to put his palm to her cheek and she lifted her face to meet his eyes. Brienne stared back and her heart felt ready to plop entirely out of her chest, it was beating so hard in anticipation. 

“Hey.” Jaime gave her a searching look and smiled, both gentle and teasing. “I love you, too.”

Then a spark of mischief came into his eyes and he added, “Think that if I try to kiss you again, you won’t almost puke this time?”

She was grinning so hard that her cheeks hurt. “I make no promises.”


	23. Day 94 Redux

Day 94 Redux

Margaery studied her nails, frowning at a tiny chip at the end of her pinky finger; she found a file that Taena had left behind and carefully leveled it out. The furtive whispers on the other side of the dorm room went quiet as she blew on her hand. 

“Are you finished?” she asked, dropping the file and looking up. “I do have class soon.”

Sansa leveled a glare that Margaery never would have thought her capable; it was impressive, in an angry kitten kind of way. Brienne was more a glum, burly bear, though Margaery knew she wouldn’t take kindly to the comparison and so she didn’t say it aloud. 

She _did_ say, “Let’s get to the point, ladies, you’re up to something and I know it-”

“How?” Sansa spat it out with near palpable distaste. “Have you been spying on us? Checking Brienne’s phone? Having people report back to you?”

“Not all of us are Cersei Lannister,” Margaery replied evenly. And thank the heavens that she wasn’t, she enjoyed being universally loved, not feared, thank you very much. “And you two are not as sly as you think you are. I caught wind of it simply by paying attention.”

Sansa looked as if she was mere seconds from springing forward. It was a pleasant surprise; until recently, Margaery had been convinced of her all-encompassing meekness. Where Cersei directed, Sansa went and where Cersei dictated, Sansa struck. 

But then she struck out at Brienne, who had said… nothing.

“Meera told me what happened a few weeks ago,” Margaery explained. “Of course Cersei’s acolytes would harass my pledges, but Brienne stood there and let you, which is very unlike her.”

“I…” Brienne faltered. “No, that’s-”

“You are quiet and thoughtful and slow to anger, yes,” Margaery said patiently. “But you are no one’s punching bag, Brienne.”

The much taller girl swallowed hard and looked down at her feet. Margaery was still working on that. 

“So I started watching, yes,” Margaery directed it at Sansa, “and it did seem rather interesting that you had particular distaste for her. There was an… intent that seemed, frankly, overblown.”

“We didn’t want anyone to figure it out,” Brienne said. “That we know each other, that we had a plan to get Cersei out of Kappa.”

Sansa hissed. 

Brienne let out a tired sigh. “She knows, Sansa. There’s no use hiding it.”

“Also, Bronn’s been in a bit of a tetch about getting dumped and just a few days ago I overheard you comforting Lollys, telling her that she could rely on her friends to get her through it.” Margaery gave a nonchalant shrug. “It sounded familiar enough, so I took a stab. Looks like I wasn’t wrong.”

“That’s it?” Sansa seemed to be one provocation away from stomping her foot - Margaery was tempted enough to push her into it - and she said to Brienne, “You could have said _nothing_ and all she would have had is suspicions!”

“I’m pretty clever, I would have gotten there eventually,” Margaery offered helpfully when Brienne sputtered and reddened. 

“She could be as bad as Cersei!”

Margaery frowned. “Well, that’s rude.”

“All of this work, everything I’ve done to protect the girls in my house, gone! Done!” Sansa appeared near tears. “Brienne, why couldn’t you just lie?”

“Oh, for the love of- have you ever seen this girl try to lie?” Margaery marched forward and held out her hand. “Brienne, your phone, please.”

Though Sansa huffed with disapproval, Brienne gave another exhausted sigh and handed it over. That was promising, at least. She asked, “What do you need it for?”

“Your friend here needs proof that I’m not going to turn you in. Mutually assured destruction is the fastest way to cement alliances.”

With that, Margaery opened up Brienne’s camera and shoved up her own shirt. Sansa gaped and Brienne jerked her face aside to look away - that was a pity - and Margery smiled beatifically as she took a selfie. She gave it a quick study: the angle could be better, but it couldn’t be said that she had a _bad_ angle, bared chest or not. 

“There.” She fixed her shirt and popped the phone in the air. Brienne fumbled to catch it. “Now if I go running to Cersei or try to manipulate you in any way, you have the means to embarrass me. Not that I’ll be particularly embarrassed, but ammunition is ammunition.”

Sansa stared at her. Brienne squeaked at the picture on her phone and hastily closed the app. 

“So! Cersei’s a beast and you want her out of Kappa?” Margaery smiled with satisfaction when both girls mutely nodded. “But I suppose that a great deal of what you’ve done so far is defensive. Reactionary. Sansa, darling, that simply won’t do. You have to let me help.”

“And what do you get out of it?” Sansa challenged. 

“I’ve heard enough concerning whispers, then as for what happened today...” Margaery shook her head. “I have nothing to gain from it personally, but we’d all be better off if Cersei weren’t in power.”

At Sansa’s skeptical scoff, Brienne murmured, “I told you.”

“She could be playing us,” Sansa said back in a low tone.

“She won’t, I promise,” Brienne said ardently. “I trust her. Do you trust me?”

Sansa softened. “Of course I do.”

“Then we’re in agreement. You need to go on the offensive and I have some ideas,” Margaery told her. She waited a beat. “Though it was a stroke of genius to have Brienne lure Jaime in, that’ll blindside Cersei for sure.”

Sansa went rigid and spun on Brienne. “ _What?”_

Margaery let out a soft, relieved breath. That was one suspicion she was glad to put to rest. 

“We’re friends,” Brienne said defensively. And gods, she looked like she believed it, too. “Not even that, I think he’s just… amusing himself. It’s not anything.”

 _Oh, Brienne_ , Margaery thought to herself, _I still have so much to teach you._


	24. Day -707

Day -707

“If you’d pledged Lan Sigma as we discussed, you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

Jaime studied his snugly wrapped right hand. A floaty, heady feeling had overtaken him - an array of top shelf painkillers made what he knew to be pulsing, searing pain a dull throb instead. 

He answered, equally dully, “I know, father.”

“Where is the physician? This is taking altogether too long.”

“Checking the X-rays, he said already.” Jaime tilted his head back to meet Tyrion’s worried gaze on the other side of the hospital bed. If everything had gone as it should have, he wouldn’t have seen his little brother for weeks yet. Less than a month’s separation hardly made Tyrion look older, but his expression was grave in a way that was completely new. Jaime quietly promised, “I’m okay, twerp.”

Tyrion obviously doubted it, but to argue was useless. Jaime was already better off, after Tywin Lannister threw a regal tantrum at the thought of his golden progeny being treated in a community hospital near Westeros University. Jaime had been helicoptered out within an hour, and delivered into the care of far more lauded professionals in Lannisport. 

He wished he could remember the ride; if it weren’t for the circumstances, dare he say, Jaime might have even enjoyed it. 

Jaime looked back at his hand, considering it. It seemed almost a dream - a painful one - far away and ill-conceived. Before him, however, was undeniable proof. It meant that everything that came before, the goading shouts and ridiculing jeers, what drove his fellow pledges to drink more, push harder, take more senseless risks, had really happened. 

Which meant Jaime had actually done it, he’d stood his ground and told the Targ president _No, this has gone too far_ and had been toppled down, the back of his hand crushed under Aerys’ heel before he could process the fall. 

He’d screamed, Jaime knew that much. Screamed and screamed until Rhaegar finally tackled his uncle-cousin-fuck-those-weird-ass-Targaryens, but the damage had already been done. 

Impatient, Tywin disappeared out the door. Tyrion took advantage of it and clambered up the bed. Jaime wrapped his free arm around his brother’s shoulders and repeated, “I’ll be okay.”

It was a comforting lie for Tyrion only; any of Jaime’s hopes were dashed when their father came back with the doctor, the other man chagrined at practically being led by his ear. Tywin’s face went through a series of contortions at seeing Tyrion curled into Jaime’s side and then when the physician said they’d need to head into surgery as soon as possible.

“I want to stay,” Tyrion demanded in a trembling voice, when Tywin waved him over. 

“Your brother requires treatment. Hovering is unnecessary,” Tywin replied shortly. 

Tyrion got down and planted his feet. “I’m staying.”

Eyes narrowed, Tywin insisted, “That is enough.”

Jaime had never seen Tyrion so furious and his little brother continued to refuse. “No! Jaime needs us here!”

“He needs medical treatment, not a vigil. _Come along, Tyrion._ ”

It was a tone of voice that always left Jaime and Cersei terrified, but Tyrion only lifted his chin and firmly said, “No.”

Tywin glared. Tyrion refused to cower and even in his drug-induced haze, Jaime felt darts of pride and fear run through him. 

Tyrion was not done, however. “This is all your fault,” he seethed in a manner befitting someone much older and far more bitter. “ _Be a Lannister, live up to your legacy._ No wonder Jaime took the first out he could.”

“Your brother’s stubbornness is his own weakness-”

“What’s so great about being a Lannister?” Tyrion demanded. “You won’t even look at him! He’s hurt and you haven’t hugged him or asked if he’s okay-”

“Enough, Tyrion,” Tywin said sharply. 

“You only care about our name!” Tyrion shouted. “Gods forbid that you care about us, too!”

Tywin’s face had gone ruddy with anger, but Jaime could only see his small, gutsy little brother. He quietly called Tyrion’s name and motioned him back, hugging him when Tyrion burrowed into his uninjured side. 

Jaime wouldn’t look at his father, but managed to say, “I’d feel better if Tyrion stayed. You can go, I know you want to.”

The surgical staff arrived before Tywin could respond. They were gentler in getting Tyrion to move aside, though he’d been victorious in the end - on Jaime’s return, Tyrion was still hunched in the bedside chair, this time covered by a hospital blanket. Jaime could hear his father, out of sight, getting updated by the surgeon.

His right hand was a mass of pins, rods and bandages. Jaime gave it a fuzzy, distant inspection and let the lingering anesthesia take him back under. 

When Jaime woke again, Tyrion visibly brightened. He was in the same chair, but held a half-eaten sandwich and smiled in a way that made Jaime sigh with relief. 

“You got to stick around,” Jaime remarked. 

“Wild dragons couldn’t keep me away,” Tyrion agreed. He helped Jaime take a drink of water and nodded toward his hand. “You need something?”

Jaime liked being clear-headed too much to admit that his hand was beginning to sting. “Not yet. Where is he?”

“He’s in and out.” Tyrion didn’t look particularly put off by it and he dug Jaime’s phone out. “This has been ringing, though.”

It rang again, just as Jaime took it. The number was unfamiliar, but it was similar enough to the WU campus numbers that Jaime answered out of curiosity. 

He would have recognized the tart, crisp voice even if she hadn’t said, “Mr. Lannister? This is Olenna Tyrell.”

“Oh, uh, hey.” Jaime studied his bandages again as she replied with bland wishes for his good health. But then:

“It’s proven difficult to get a straight story from your fellow pledges as to what happened last night.” She still sounded clipped, but Jaime didn’t think he was mistaken in hearing an underlying concern. “Is there something you would like to tell me, Mr. Lannister?”

Jaime stared at his hand and then back at his brother, who was plowing through his sandwich with glee.

He took a deep breath, and he answered.


	25. Day 163

Day 163

Dacey knew she was a good president, and a good friend.

Her door was open to every sorority sister, she interacted politely with the other houses - though Dire Omega was still miffed that she’d turned them down - and was generally considered altogether steady. It made Margaery a great second-in-command: she was the effervescence to Dacey’s sensibility, the gleeful schemer that complemented Dacey’s reserved nature. 

Dacey appreciated it, even when Margaery’s intrigues were inconvenient as all hells.

“Gotta head out,” Margaery told her, indicating Brienne standing a few feet away. “We have that thing in that place.”

“With that matter and the other?” Dacey asked dryly. She sat back on her haunches and eyed the overgrown garden she and Meera were working on. They'd both be scraping dirt from under their nails for ages; there was a joke in there about Northern girls and their willingness to get dirty, but Dacey would never search for it. Still, she’d rather literally get into the muck than whatever Sansa was up to these days. 

Everyone else from Theta and Sigma were spread around the house they were helping renovate for a low-income family. It wasn’t ideal for Margaery to head out when everyone else was still working, but needs must. Dacey asked, “Do you need to borrow my car?”

“No, Robb told Brienne he’s close by,” Margaery replied, unconcerned. Dacey glanced at Brienne, but she’d turned her back on the house, watching the street for their ride. 

Dacey hummed and resumed yanking out weeds. “Let me know what comes of it.”

“Of course,” Margaery promised. 

She nodded and started working again. The plot wasn’t ready for seedlings, but a case of them was dropped near her soon enough. Dacey looked up to see that Jaime was the culprit, but his eyes were on the road. There was a peppy honk of a horn and the sound of car doors opening and it didn’t take much to surmise what he was watching. 

“I don’t need those yet,” Dacey told him, and her irritated tone broke through his laser focus. 

He shrugged restlessly. “I thought you might.”

“Right.” Dacey rolled her eyes. “At least put them out of my way.”

Grumbling, Jaime complied and Dacey got back to work. She hadn’t forgotten that Meera was there, but it was mildly surprising that she asked, “So what’s with the thing in the place?”

“Nothing that needs discussing,” Dacey answered. 

“Message received, captain,” Meera said, amused. 

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, and kept buzzing until Dacey relented and answered, “Robb, I’m busy.”

“You don’t want to come? I can circle back around,” he said, as if she’d been privy to the planning that had probably been going on all morning. 

“Because that would set a great example, both leaders leaving their sisters behind.” Gods, her eyes were going to roll out of her head because of the men around her today. 

Robb sheepishly laughed and apologized. Dacey hung up before he could sucker her into chatting for even longer. “Doofus,” she said under her breath. 

“He’s been visiting more,” Meera said. “Just... an observation.”

Dacey side-eyed her. “You know Robb, he likes to be personable.”

“Plus the Rivers still have it out for him,” Meera suggested. 

“He’ll be in the doghouse with them for a while yet,” Dacey agreed.

“Still not gossiping” - though Meera was and it made Dacey huff almost fondly - “but some of the girls were wondering why. He doesn’t seem Margaery’s type.”

If she was going to get any work done, she had to nip this in the bud, so Dacey said, “It’s Brienne.”

Meera straightened up. “Huh. I introduced them. Never would have guessed they’d end up dating.”

“They’re not, but he’s gearing up to it,” Dacey admitted. 

“Oh?”

She pushed her hands into the soil. “Yeah, Robb has his tells. He gets all moony-eyed and distracted and then he tells me, ‘Gee, Dacey, I really like her’.”

Meera laughed and Dacey snorted. Gods, the number of times Robb had cycled through that song and dance, she’d think he’d learn some new steps by now, but no, _second verse same as the first_ , she mused uncharitably. _Or fifth verse, by now_.

“So that’s really happening.” It was Jaime again and Dacey bit back a sigh when he dropped down next to her and started aggressively pulling at weeds. “You’d think girls would know to stay away from that disaster.”

“Pot, kettle,” Dacey replied. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jaime asked.

“It means I’d like to get this done before the sun gets any higher.” Dacey sighed. “Are you actually going to help?”

“I’m not the one who hops from girl to girl,” Jaime said defensively, as if he hadn’t left a slew of girls woebegone at his disinterest. When Dacey raised a single, mocking eyebrow at him, he made a sour face. Then it shifted into something calculating and she stifled a groan. 

“Alright then, how about you and me?” Jaime looked like he was trying to convince them both. “We’re both head our houses, and we get along-”

“No,” Dacey said flatly.

Jaime looked far too offended over something that was so clearly bullshit. “You’re not eve-”

“No,” Dacey repeated. 

It was obviously his pride that kept him needling at her. “Why not?”

“Because I’m no one’s safety choice,” Dacey replied sharply. Jaime blanched and she worked to soften the edges of her voice. “And neither are you.”

Jaime blinked at her, then roughly nodded and she felt a twinge of guilt. Not for turning him down, but for knowing why he was hurting and that there was nothing she could do about it. It was too familiar a feeling. 

“Let’s get to work,” she said, far more gently. She even tried for humor. “Hey, best case scenario, he graduates soon and then he’ll be completely out of our hair.”

“That’s not the problem,” Jaime muttered.

“No,” Dacey said tiredly. “I suppose it’s not.”


	26. Day 108

Day 108

She didn’t want to do it. 

It took her three attempts in as many days before Brienne could admit it to herself, but that’s what it came down to: she didn’t want to do it. 

Brienne set her phone on the desktop and took a step back. She slid her hands together, rubbing intently enough that heat grew between her palms. It didn’t provide much of a distraction and it didn’t calm the growing ache in the middle of her chest, so she let them fall to her sides.

Jaime had texted only that morning, a quick note that said he was going to be busy for a lot of the day. Checking in. He was doing that more often, inducing a spark that sent a thrill through her every time. 

The first time - after Winter break began, not the _first_ first time, gods that was weeks ago - was the day he left for home. It was a blurry shot of a storefront, followed by _Did you see there’s a new computer place in town we should hit it up do you like kombucha not computers i meant kombucha geez voice command._

There’d been a grin on her face before she was able to decipher what exactly he meant. He did that. Jaime made her smile when she didn’t mean to. Worse, he made her smile when she had every intention of keeping a straight face. 

Everything about him would have been dangerous to her peace of mind even if there wasn't a sword hanging over everyone’s heads, swaying lower and closer with every attack and parry within the Kappa house. The fact that Jaime knew nothing about it - Brienne thought he didn’t, she _hoped_ he didn’t, but gods, what did she really know anymore - wouldn’t shield him. 

Morose at the thought, Brienne sat on the trunk at the end of her bed. Inside were mementos: a well-loved stuffed bear adorned with bald spots, the first pair of boxing gloves she outgrew, some of Galladon’s drawings that once decorated the fridge. 

A part of her wanted to take Jaime, a small sliver of him for all her own, and stuff him away inside. She could take him out from time to time, admire him with a small, contained ache in her heart. _Remember when you met a beautiful boy and he was awful, and then he wasn’t? The first time you felt the promise of… something?_

It couldn’t go anywhere. Brienne knew it, though she’d tried her best to rationalize it away. It had been too difficult to convince Sansa that there was nothing going on with Jaime, that their connection was casual, a byproduct of their joined houses. That it was friendly antagonism at best. Brienne recognized it for the lie it was even as Sansa gave her a wary nod. 

Margaery had, too. 

(She waited until they could speak privately. When they did, Margaery had cut to the chase, to the quick: “He’s going to find out at some point. All of it.”

Brienne couldn’t argue. 

“He’s not a bad person,” Margaery said gently.

No, he wasn’t.

“But Cersei is still his sister.”

Yes, she was.

Margaery looked as serious as Brienne had ever seen her. “You have to make a decision, Brienne. I’m sorry, but you do.”)

Days into finding solace at home, Brienne finally shored up the courage to do what needed to be done - and every time it eroded in the face of Jaime’s musings on how he couldn’t find the USB port that his father must be plugging into these days, or the reflection on how different his seaside holiday was from hers. He’d called once and, thankfully, she’d been out pulling up crab traps with her dad and missed it. She shared a photo of their haul and he sent back a flurry of thumbs up and crab pincer emojis and Brienne had gone to sleep holding onto the idea of him for one more night. 

But enough was enough. Jaime wasn’t a bad person. He was frustratingly charming and annoying and he made everything brighter - and one day he would hate her for everything that she’d been hiding from him. As good a person she now knew him to be, Jaime was Cersei’s brother. Once he learned the truth, this fledgling thing would wither away to nothing between one heartbeat and the next. 

Holding to that instead, Brienne burst forward and picked up her phone. Practice and rehearsal and determined grit forced her fingers along, backtracking to erase a spare letter, to set a space between clumped words, then speeding forward so it could finally be over. In the end, she had:

_Jaime, I hadn’t said anything because I was trying to figure out what to do, but I got my grades back and they weren’t what I was expecting. It looks like rushing and sorority requirements took more of a toll than I expected, so I’m really going to have to buckle down next semester and that means I need to not be distracted. I hope you understand it’s not you, but I have to focus on school and studying. I’m sure we’ll see each other for house functions, so maybe we can catch up then?_

She read it over and then again. Gnawing at her lip, she added _I hope you have a nice holiday with your family_ \- and sent it before she could convince herself otherwise. 

Brienne had gotten used to the buzz of her phone and finding Jaime’s name on the screen, but after ten minutes of silence, she set it down again and left her bedroom. She made herself ignore it for an hour and then two, afraid of what she would or wouldn’t find when she finally looked again. 

When she did, Jaime’s reply was simple: _I get it, that’s fine. Have a good break._

There was nothing else and Brienne had never felt more of a fool. 


	27. Day 320

Day 320

Jaime watched Brienne as she went through her pre-flight checks, her movements smooth and practiced, wordlessly demonstrating her years of experience. When he’d offered to copilot, she’d politely declined and it was likely for the best; the sensation of bobbing in the bay threw off his instincts and his gaze constantly tripped on the way Brienne’s fingers stroked over the controls, how she wrapped her palm around the throttle. 

She’d probably kill him if he said so aloud, given their present company. 

So instead, Jaime made sure his headset was secure around his ears, and glanced behind them, smiling at the sight of Tyrion double checking that his safety straps were fixed in place. His little brother, all bluster in convincing their father to let them go up for a ride, looking, well-

“Looking a little green there, buddy.”

Tyrion made a face at him. “Looking a little superfluous there, pal.”

Jaime frowned and Brienne idly said, “I’d threaten to turn this boat around, but we haven’t even left yet.”

“And let you miss the opportunity to show Jaime up?” Tyrion managed a smirk despite his apparent nerves. “Don’t change your plans on my account.”

Brienne’s warm laugh echoed through their headsets, thankfully missing the middle finger Jaime sent toward the back. “Seeing as we’ve just met, I’d hate to let you down so soon.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road! Or the water, as the case may be,” Tyrion amended. “Then the sky.”

“Let’s do it,” Brienne agreed. She stuffed her logbook in the pocket behind her seat; Tyrion promptly removed it, unapologetically nosy as he rifled through the pages, though Jaime supposed he was trying to distract himself. 

It was wildly different from taxiing on a solid runway. The swaying sensation of the water made Jaime’s stomach flip, or maybe it was the way Brienne handled the seaplane, completely steady and focused. There were guys he refused to fly with at school, those prone to showboating and pretending at more skills than they really had, but Brienne was nothing like that. It was perhaps what Tywin had seen, when it was first suggested that Brienne take Jaime and Tyrion up before she headed home. 

Jaime knew it was a lucky break, that he’d been able to tag along to King’s Landing with his father and brother, that Cersei was off in Pentos, partying with friends. It’d hardly taken any convincing to get Brienne to visit for the day; she’d been as eager to see him as he was her. 

They’d played at the idea of going to lunch or taking a walking tour of King’s Landing, but not fifteen minutes after Brienne arrived, they’d gone tumbling into bed. Her first ever, and his first that wasn’t a fleeting, disappointing encounter in the back seat of a car. The afternoon had passed in a haze of newly discovered sensations: the unequal pleasure of knowing Brienne inside and out, the breathless sound of her voice in his ear as she said things he’d been anxious to say, but couldn’t figure out how until she did. 

He wouldn’t see her for another five weeks after this and it was going to be godsdamn torture. 

Amazingly, Tywin took it in stride that the friend Jaime had casually mentioned was visiting turned out to be Brienne, not Addam or Bronn. By the time he and Tyrion returned from their day at the KL Comic-Con - arms full of signed memorabilia from meet and greets only Lannister money could get into at the last minute - Jaime and Brienne had been seated in the living room, hair dry and a respectful distance apart. 

He owed a thank you note or fruit basket to whatever dastardly organization kidnapped his father and sent a replicant in his place, because Tywin had graciously - _graciously_ \- asked Brienne if she had plans for staying in King’s Landing and then offered one of their spare rooms. A quick call to her dad and it was settled. 

The evening had gotten even more surreal, what with sitting around the dinner table with all of them. Tyrion gleefully detailed how their father had gotten tongue-tied over a former Bond girl and fumbled in asking for an autograph. Jaime could hardly believe it, but the way his father’s face reddened at the retelling gave credence to the story. 

“You could’ve just said, ‘Hi, I’m Tywin Lannister and I’m disgustingly wealthy’,” Tyrion suggested. “Boom, a date.”

Tywin took a large swig of wine and refused to reply, though Jaime had never before laughed so hard in his father’s presence. 

The next morning - after a night where Jaime deeply regretted that his father’s room was between his and Brienne’s - Tyrion pushed further, adding to Jaime’s request and begging to ride in the seaplane Brienne had used to make the trip to the city. It took much less work than Jaime would have expected. 

Now they were in the air, the water on the horizon falling away, replaced by a bright blue sky, the buildings of King’s Landing going tiny in comparison. Tyrion gave a small gasp of surprise - they weren’t strangers to riding in planes, but the small cabin and loud, persistent rumbling all around them was a sharp contrast to the hushed elegance of first class - and Jaime traded a happy smile with Brienne. 

Then he suddenly remembered and muttered, “Damn.”

Brienne glanced back. “What’s that?”

“I meant to ask something as we lifted off.” Jaime leaned in toward her. “What’s this I hear about a slick spot?”

He only meant to tease her, but he found himself thrown again when Brienne answered with a side eye and a blush filled her cheeks. It used to be that he only knew it by sight, but now he unerringly recalled the heat of it under his fingertips, the press of it against his own cheek and he was about to say more, he only had to figure out how to make his mouth work since it’d suddenly gone dry, but then Tyrion let out an emphatic, “Ew” and Brienne’s eyes went wide with horror. 

“Shit, forgot you could hear me,” Jaime mumbled. 

“Only too well, big brother. Too. Well.”

“It’s an actual thing for piloting boats,” Brienne said hastily, as if to erase what Jaime had said. “From right before liftoff from the water, it’s also called-”

She cut herself off and it was too good to pass up, so Jaime prodded her with, “Yes? What else is it called?”

Brienne gave him a mutinous look and roughly sighed out, “The slippery spot.”

“EW,” Tyrion repeated. 

“It’s not like that,” Brienne muttered, almost too low to be caught. “They’re legitimate technical terms.”

“Yeah, they are,” Jaime crowed. 

Brienne kept her eyes fixed on the horizon, but said, “Why are you just… ugh.”

“Can‘t feel bad for you,” Tyrion said. “He came prepackaged for me, but you picked him.” 

Jaime snuck a look at Brienne and replied, “What are you on about? We’re not dating.”

Brienne and Tyrion’s snorts came in tandem, but Tyrion added a disbelieving, “You can’t think I’m buying that.”

“Why not?” 

“Because you’re acting like a sappy dumbass around her,” Tyrion retorted. “She’s just as bad - not that I’m calling you a dumbass, Brienne.”

“Thanks,” she said dryly. 

“Plus there’s the whole ‘just came for dinner’ gambit.” There was a flapping movement he caught out of the corner of his eye and Jaime turned to see it was the logbook in Tyrion’s hand. “But according to this, your _friend_ got here about an hour after we left yesterday morning.”

Brienne’s embarrassed sigh was particularly loud in the headsets, but Jaime sheepishly rubbed at his face and chuckled out, “Busted.”

“You want to keep it on the down low, that’s fine, I can play along” - Tyrion paused for effect and Jaime rolled his eyes - “on one condition.”

“He really is a Lannister, huh?” Brienne asked. 

“The most of any of us,” Jaime replied. 

Tyrion ignored them and asked, “Tell me, Brienne - how do you feel about Dungeons and Dragons?”

“I’m familiar with it,” Brienne said carefully. 

“Then we have the makings of a deal,” Tyrion replied with satisfaction. 

“Let me focus on flying first, maybe? We can hammer out the details later.”

Jaime knew it was coming from the moment she said it and he shouted, “Don’t even, Tyrion, I mean it!” over his brother’s muttered _I’ll leave that to Jaime._

Brienne was still wincing when he looked over to say, “Best not to give him an opening like that.”

“That’s what she-”

“TYRION!”

Perhaps Brienne heard what Jaime tried to cover, because she purposefully banked and then grinned at the sound of a surprised yelp behind them. 

It was enough to induce Tyrion’s silence for the rest of the flight and Jaime used the time to talk shop with Brienne. Aside from the takeoff and landing, it wasn’t all that different from flying the school aircraft and it was easy to forget it as they sailed through the air. 

He was counting on his brother feeling the same and as they made their descent, Jaime adopted a serious, warning tone and said, “Tyrion, listen carefully.”

It hit just right, because Tyrion’s “What?” was both suspicious and nervous. 

“Remain calm and brace yourself. We’ll be making a water landing” - he stopped long enough to hear his brother loudly gulp - “but that’s okay, because this is a seaplane.” 

There was a brief moment of silence and then Tyrion yelled, “You ass!”

“That was for you,” Jaime said to Brienne. She shook her head, but didn’t bother to hide her smile as she made a smooth landing. 

“Just for that little stunt, my price has gone up,” Tyrion said as they drew closer to the dock. “Not just the three of us on a short quest, I demand an entire party.”

“An entire-“ Jaime jerked around to face him. “Who the hell do you think I’ll be able to get together for a campaign?”

“That’s not my problem, now is it?” Tyrion waved the logbook again. “Do you really want to test me?”

Jaime swore and turned back forward. “It’s official, you’re spending way too much time with dad. You’re starting to sound exactly like him.”

“Gods, that once would have been the meanest thing you ever said to me,” Tyrion mused. “And now I think it’s a compliment.”

“Trust me, it’s not,” Jaime shot back.

Brienne gave him a bracing smile. “Now that I’ve met your dad, I have to say… it kinda is.”

“That’s it,” Jaime announced. “As soon as we get back, we’re checking him for a bar code.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My unending thanks to Luthien, FireSign, Nire and Slips for holding my hand through this one, they are absolute saints in putting up with my flailing.


	28. Day 108 Redux

Day 108 Redux

If there was an eighth hell, it was made up of fending through crowds in the midst of last minute holiday shopping.

Jaime did as any reasonable person would do and ordered everything online. Sure, Tywin footed the bill, but it wasn’t as if Jaime had an alternate source of income, nor had his father ever specifically requested anything. So Jaime always relied on the old standby of buying something shiny for Cersei, something high tech for Tyrion and signing his name onto the card attached to the bottle of wine his father’s assistant curated every year. It was simple, easy.

Tyrion had not gotten the memo.

“Are you done yet?” Jaime asked impatiently, watching Tyrion go from shop to shop, weighing out different options. Briefcases, tie clips, and cufflinks were all considered, then put back where Tyrion found them, a disapproving frown on his face. 

“Hold your horses,” his little brother grumbled. “The alien’s been an especially good boy this year, his Sevenmas gift should reflect that.”

Jaime’s eyes flew skyward, but he bore it as long as he could. If he checked his phone and got a little grumpier when it remained silent, who was to judge him?

He was thinking of Brienne when they wandered into yet another boutique, though it offered the same kind of upscale frippery Tyrion had already rejected. He was thinking of her, in fact, when he saw a scarf and mitten set in a familiar shade of blue and Jaime idly thumbed it as Tyrion loudly announced that everything was useless and he was going to the bookstore next door. 

They both managed to purchase something, with Tyrion sighing over the book set he’d finally decided on. He was secretive about it when Jaime asked, so Jaime was just as stubborn about revealing what he’d bought when they got back to the car. 

All the way home, however, Jaime indulged in a daydream, one where he watched Brienne open the gift and then helped her loop the scarf around her neck, her eyes brightening to match as he tugged on the ends to bring her closer. The way his heart stuttered in his chest as he imagined it made him more certain than ever that whatever this was, it wasn’t fading anytime soon. 

He was still charting it out in his head - he’d grip the soft scarf ends, then tilt slightly _up_ to meet her, wouldn’t that be something - when they walked inside their home and heard something that had been absent for so long, Jaime’d nearly forgotten it had once been the norm.

They froze outside of their father’s office, where Cersei hovered near the closed door, an almost exhilarated smile on her face. From the other side came their father’s outraged voice, ruthlessly reprimanding his unfortunate target. The words were too muffled to be understood, but the tone was unmistakable. 

“He’s back!” Cersei said excitedly. “Gods, just when I thought he’d gone completely soft. It’s such a relief.”

Jaime and Tyrion traded an uneasy look, which Tyrion followed with a disappointed glance at the bag in his hand. Words of apology popped into Jaime’s head, though there wasn’t an opportunity to put so much as a sympathetic hand on Tyrion’s slumped shoulder when a phone clanged into its cradle and the office door opened before they could scatter.

“Back already?” The pleased look on Tywin’s face was somehow more disconcerting than the tone he’d used just seconds before to rip someone a new one. “Cersei, I’ve been meaning to ask, wasn’t your young man going to visit during the break?”

Cersei’s mouth worked wordlessly; Jaime had no such issue in recovering with a chortle. “‘Young man’ is stretching a bit there. He’s, what, thirty by now, Cersei?”

“Twenty-six,” Cersei replied sharply. “And no, I cut him loose. He won’t come around.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Tywin said, apparently sincerely. Cersei looked appalled. “If you’d still like me to find a place for him-”

“No,” Cersei insisted, now inexplicably furious. “Trust me, he’d be of no use to you.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Tywin looked at Jaime and Tyrion. “What did you buy?”

Tyrion hugged the bag to his chest. “Like I’m telling you.”

“Ah, fair enough.”

 _Fair?_ Cersei mouthed the word at Jaime and he laughed as Tywin continued. “Well, put it up and then meet me in the kitchen. I asked Cook to make that wassail you mentioned.”

“Awesome,” Tyrion breathed out, and then he raced up the stairs. 

Their father encouraged them to follow, but Cersei stayed rooted in place until he was out of earshot, hollowing saying, “Oh gods… it’s just with us.”

“It's not so bad, is it?” Jaime asked. “Unless you want him go back to being a bastard all the time.”

“At least he didn’t seem a stranger then,” Cersei snapped. 

“I’d take the literal Stranger over the old him,” Jaime said honestly. It might have been too much honesty for her, because Cersei flounced away in reply. 

Amused, Jaime started toward his room when his text notification went off and the smile that came on his face when he saw it was from Brienne slid away as he read it. 

He leaned back on the hallway wall, thunderstruck as he read it once more. 

It didn’t make any sense. 

Jaime was still staring at his phone when Tyrion came back and tugged him along to the kitchen. It weighed on his mind as a warm mug of spicy cider was placed in his hand, as he drank and distantly observed his father and brother make plans for the rest of the break. 

Had he done something wrong?

 _Did I do something wrong?_ He typed it in and then deleted it. Was she okay? _Are you okay?_ Deleted again. 

It made _no sense_.

Jaime wanted to argue, to try and get a better explanation, but she’d ended her message with such finality. _Have a nice holiday with your family._

He would, he could. Maybe. 

Later, he shoved the boutique tote into the corner of his closet and typed something back, trying his best to ignore the uncertainty burning a hole in his stomach, how it moved up to his chest when she never replied. There was little to be done from across the country, but he’d see her in a month, once they were back at school. He’d see her and he’d fix it. 

It was Brienne. He’d do whatever was needed to make it right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it about that time where the 1000 word limit becomes a mere suggestion instead of a hard and fast rule? Probs.


	29. Day 61

Day 61

Brienne had snuck away from the Theta Halloween party and was tipping out the contents of her cup into the kitchen sink when she heard Margaery laughingly shout, “Jaime, what in the _hells_ are you wearing?”

She didn’t turn around, even though the conversation flowed into the room and carried on behind her, but Jaime proved hard to ignore when he said, “What are you talking about? I always dress like this.”

“No, you do not, because if you did, we would have given Sigma a hard pass and been happier for it,” Margaery giggled out. “Brienne, have you seen this disaster?”

“Just who I was looking for,” Jaime said jovially. “This costume really doesn’t reach its full effect unless it has the right audience, you see.”

“Oh, really,” Margaery replied. “And just what are you?”

“Tarth’s worst nightmare, obviously. Look, she’ll tell you herself - Brienne, what do you think?”

Brienne turned around and felt her mouth drop open, a low “Uhhh,” coming out too automatically to be strangled back. 

Jaime burst out laughing, his smile wide, the only familiar thing about him. Everything else looked _wrong_ , from the tri-tone boat shoes on his feet to the spiky tips of his overly-gelled hair. He stood still so she could take in the full picture, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coral-hued, knee length shorts; even from halfway across the room, she could make out the tiny sailboats printed all over them. 

His chambray button up was _unbuttoned_ an inordinate depth, sleeves folded back to his elbows and its collar popped high. Jaime exclaimed, “Hold up, it’s not complete!” as he tugged a pair of dark sunglasses from where they hung at the middle of his chest. He brought them up and affected a smug, haughty smirk once they were set on his nose.

The look, such as it was, was made complete by a puka shell necklace fitted snugly around his neck. 

“Wha… why?” Brienne asked helplessly. It wasn’t until this moment that she discovered that she’d gotten used to his usual t-shirt and jeans, his bright red hoodie and sneakers. Dressed like this, Jaime could have easily fit in around Bar Ep, even River Chi, really any place filled with-

“Frat boy assholes,” Brienne finished aloud and Jaime raised his arms in victory.

“She got it!”

Margaery laughed again and shook her head at Jaime’s announcement. “You are… oh, for gods’ sake, Jaime.”

She left them and Brienne stared after her, feeling horribly abandoned, especially when Jaime took the sunglasses back off and drew closer. A far more sincere smile - he had actual sincere smiles, Brienne realized with dismay - graced his face as he asked, “And what are you supposed to be?”

Brienne looked down at her half-filled cup and brought it to her mouth, drinking it first before mumbling something out. It was a mistake, because it only encouraged Jaime to draw nearer. 

“What’s that now?” 

Sighing, Brienne said, “A goddess.”

She could see why he would have trouble seeing it for himself, even if all the other pledges were dressed similarly. The gauzy, light blue dress left her large shoulders mostly bare and she’d been tripping over the flowing skirts the entire night. Delicate butterfly accessories were clipped into her hair, holding it back to reveal the liberal amount of sparkling, translucent powder on her cheeks. Her bare limbs were similarly decorated and Brienne crossed her arms to try to at least cover some skin with her hands. 

“Ah, I see,” Jaime said. 

“Yeah.” 

Brienne looked anywhere else but him, an effort broken when Jaime went on and said, “You look great.”

She squinted at him, fully skeptical. “I look stupid.”

“No, _I_ look stupid,” Jaime replied. He leaned one elbow on the counter. “You look like the goddess that kicks ass and doesn’t even break a sweat doing it.”

Biting her lip to keep from smiling, hoping he couldn’t see how that made her stomach do a tiny, infinitesimal, almost-not-there-at-all flip, Brienne shortly said, “Sure.”

“You want to know what the worst part about this was?” Jaime motioned down at himself. “I didn’t even have to look very far. Between Bronn, Addam and Willem’s closets, I was set. Should I be concerned?”

“Definitely,” Brienne told him. She dumped her cup in the near overflowing trash and added, “Or maybe it’s your secret self finally coming to the surface.”

“This? Nah, I already want to punch myself when I catch my reflection,” Jaime said easily. “Sure it’s not your secret self that’s showing?”

What would he say if she answered that honestly? Especially with what she had plans to do after leaving the Theta house. Brienne let out a derisive snort to cover her sudden flurry of nerves and said, “Way too much of me is showing already.”

“Can’t say I complain,” Jaime replied. And as stupid as he definitely looked, Brienne had to remind herself that momentary charm was exactly that: momentary, fleeting, nothing to be dragged along by. 

A loud, chattering group of students came into the kitchen looking for refills and Brienne let them take up space between her and Jaime. She took careful steps backwards in the direction of the stairs and gave Jaime a small wave, a brief goodbye, and Jaime cocked his head to one side as she did. 

It imprinted on her mind and Brienne looked back over her shoulder once more as she started up the stairs and then grabbed at her skirts so she didn’t trip over them for the thousandth time. 

She rustled through the pile of bags on the second floor landing, her search made more difficult by the darkened hallway, an impediment to keep party guests from wandering upstairs. Backpack in hand, she turned and startled to a stop when she saw that Jaime was at the head of the stairs. 

“What are you doing up here?”

“Uh, I…” Jaime jerked his thumb over his shoulder, looking perplexed. “I thought you…”

She gripped her backpack strap a little tighter. “Thought that I what?”

“That you wanted me to…. I guess I got that wrong,” Jaime said slowly. “Sorry, um, I’m a little… well, we pregamed before coming over?”

“Pregamed.”

“Yeah, shots mostly. I mean, I’m not drunk, it’s just a thing we do-”

“I know what pregaming is.”

Jaime let out a rough breath and attempted to run his hand through his hair, clearly annoyed when he hit its stiff arrangement. “Okay, cards on the table, I thought you wanted me up here with you. If you didn’t, I’ll go, it’s fine.”

“I-” Brienne stopped short. She wanted to tell him no, to encourage him to leave, so she could make her way to the Kappa House and do her part in Sansa’s plan for the night. But the part of her that was still tumbling over his roundabout compliments and handsome smiles… it wanted to know. Finally, honestly, she said, “I wasn’t asking you to come up.”

Jaime gave a jerky nod. “Okay, then, I-”

“But since you’re here,” Brienne blurted out. 

He blinked at her and she could see how he fought off a smile. “Yeah?”

Brienne stepped closer. “I mean, this isn’t like me. At all.”

He watched her motion at the meticulously styled hair and gauzy dress and said, “Let’s agree to disagree on that.”

“I feel ridiculous and you _definitely_ look ridiculous,” Brienne went on.

“No argument.”

She took a deep breath. “So if I’m not really me, and you’re not really you...”

“...then who knows who did what up here?” Jaime asked, catching on. 

“Yeah,” Brienne said quietly.

Jaime hadn’t moved from the head of the stairs the entire time they spoke, but Brienne dropped the backpack down to the floor, her line in the sand, and he must have recognized it for what it was. He walked closer, his features diminished by the shadowed hallway, but his eyes gleaming in what little light there was. 

“So what are you going to do, not-Brienne?” he asked.

“I was kinda hoping you knew, not-Jaime,” Brienne said back. 

“Well, I mean, I came all this way, climbed all those stairs-”

“As if I didn’t.”

“-even dressed like a fucking idiot just to get a lau-”

Brienne lunged forward and cut him off, unable to help herself, because gods knew that he would keep saying all sorts of silly, clever things until she did it anyway, so she did it. She did. She kissed Jaime Lannister. 

He let out a soft noise of surprise, muffled against her lips, and Brienne almost pulled back with a panicked apology, but then Jaime reciprocated. Enthusiastically. 

She’d clamped her hands onto his shoulders, but Jaime slid his arms around her, so their bodies joined together at the chest. She could both feel and hear the satisfied sound he made as he tilted his head and tried to deepen the kiss, but then she _truly_ panicked and yanked her head back. 

Jaime chased after her for a scant moment, his eyes half-closed. Brienne breathed loudly, right in his face, but he didn’t seem to mind. 

It was then that she should have left, she did have places to be, but instead Brienne adjusted her hands, running them up until her fingers were touching the still-soft hairs at the nape of his neck. 

“I’ve never done that before,” she admitted.

“Shut a guy up with your mouth?” Jaime asked. “It’s really effective, you should do it more.”

“No, I’ve never…” It wasn’t as if he didn’t already know, she knew she’d been clumsy. Gods, this was so stupid, such a stupid move, from kissing him to confessing her inexperience. “I’ve never kissed anyone before.”

Jaime smiled, his perfectly aligned teeth catching the light as his eyes had. “I never would have guessed.”

“Liar,” Brienne whispered. “I don’t have a clue what I’m do-”

He was right, kissing someone was a really effective way to make someone stop talking. Brienne lost her entire train of thought when he brought his lips to hers once more, far more carefully than she had, not a bungling mashing of mouths, but a slow, coaxing press, an invitation and Brienne dreamily sighed, deep in her throat, when Jaime threaded one hand over the back of her head and guided her along. 

Their chests were still touching, but they drifted along together, carried away by the dangerous rationalization of _just this once_ , Jaime moving forward in tandem with Brienne’s trailing back, until her backside made contact with the hall table, it’s photo frames full of Theta alumnus clattering at the impact. 

Brienne bounced forward at the noise, breaking away from Jaime, dragging in a gulp of air as her head cleared and she remembered-

She remembered. 

“I have to go,” Brienne realized. 

Jaime still held her. “What, right now?”

“Yeah, I, um, I promised that I would help with-” She cut herself off, far less happily now. “Sorry, I do need to go. That’s why I was getting my stuff, a friend of mine needs me and now I’m late.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“This was…” Brienne put her palm to his chest, pushing lightly until there was space to breathe. She licked her lips and looked up to see that he was intently watching her mouth. Gods, what she would do to stay. “This was nice. Thank you.”

Jaime brought his eyes to hers. “You’re welcome?”

“Not-Brienne really appreciated it,” she said, trying for a light tone. 

“I’m glad she did,” Jaime replied, sounding like she wished she had. “Not-Jaime had a pretty good time, too.”

“Okay then.” Brienne disentangled herself entirely and picked up her bag. “Um. Good night.”

Jaime stayed still and, sounding far too amused, replied, “Good night.”

She left him behind, resolutely not looking back this time. His presence on the second floor made it impossible to change there, so instead she ducked into a first floor bathroom, speedily exchanging her dress for a dark sweatshirt and jeans, hoping that no one would see when she emerged. 

Her phone had a series of missed messages from ‘Alayne’ and Brienne quickly replied as she plucked out all of the butterflies from her hair and used a moistened towel to wipe away the shimmer from her face. Little by little, Not-Brienne disappeared, gone completely - or maybe just pushed into a deep, dark corner not unlike the hallway somewhere above her - when actual-Brienne sent a final text, promising that she was on her way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a vague idea about Brienne's costume and then I saw this art of [Brienne as Psyche](https://knifeears.tumblr.com/post/622636842677895168/eros-and-psyche-au)  
> by Knifeears and pleaded to use it as my inspiration. I don't know who in this fandom isn't familiar with Knifeears' work by now, she's absolutely phenomenal and all the heaps of praise I send her way are not nearly enough. My many, many thanks to her!


	30. Day 139

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Naomi, Joathkeeper and Jeyne23.

Day 139

Running outside in the freezing cold left Jaime feeling like he was breathing shards of glass, so he had reluctantly moved inside to make numerous loops around the track in the WU athletic complex instead. It was noisy and crowded and the rubbery track added a bounce to his step that he didn’t appreciate at all. He’d rather have the hard slap of asphalt than feel as if one wrong move would send him flying into a wall. 

But needs must, so Jaime did his monotonous rings. If anything, it was better than avoiding Sorority Row, and then ignoring a certain house when he couldn’t help himself and went down that road anyway.

But he wasn’t thinking about that. 

Jaime shuffled to a stop, hands on his hips as he caught his breath. He moved aside as other runners passed him by and offered a vague wave at a few Kappas and Deltas who said his name invitingly. 

He was exiting the track, still very decidedly keeping his thoughts elsewhere - not the times they’d run into each other in the weight room, the time he spotted her - _no_ , he admonished himself - when he heard, “Lannister!”

It was Oberyn, beckoning him over with a regal wave. He started over and slowed when Oberyn shifted to reveal Robb and Jon on his other side. Jaime frowned at Oberyn, who shrugged in blissful ignorance of Jaime’s latest grievance against the Dire president. 

Forcing out air through his nostrils, Jaime resumed his normal speed and said, “Oberyn. Boys.”

Robb gave him a prissy little smile and Jaime wondered what it would take for Oberyn to look the other way while Jaime got the last of his frustrations out. Probably not much, seeing as they got along fairly well; the only mark against the Sun leader was that he occasionally propositioned Jaime to join him and Ellaria, but if Jaime stopped talking to people that hit on him, he’d hardly have anyone left to talk to at all. 

Maybe just Robb.

Gods, the thought alone made him itch all over. 

“What’s up?” Jaime asked when the other men traded a glance. 

Clearing his throat, Robb said, “I was letting Obie know. It’s official: Robert’s out of Bar Ep now that he’s been expelled. They voted Renly in as acting president last night.”

Jaime crossed his arms and frowned. “Took them long enough.”

Robb had the gall to look surprised. “They voted the same day.”

“Not what I meant,” Jaime said impatiently. He looked over at Oberyn. “Thought they tracked it to him over winter break.”

“Administration tends to drag their feet with this sort of thing,” Oberyn replied. An understatement. “Shame he wasn’t stopped before it happened. I’m all for tantalizing photos, but never without someone’s permission.”

“Come up with a plan yet?” Jaime kept his attention only on Oberyn, irritated that he could feel Robb glaring at him. For exactly what, it wasn’t clear, because if there was anyone who should be pissed off, it was himself but - _no, Jaime_ , he told himself again. Regardless, Robb never before needed a reason to be a judgy little-

“Well, we thought we’d take Renly out for a drink tonight,” Oberyn started. “Perhaps not in celebration, but in recognition.”

“Not that,” Jaime said. “Our guys have been warned, if they have the photos or are passing them around, they’re out of the frat.”

Oberyn’s eyebrows flew high. “You're bypassing probation?”

“Bronn was leaning that way, but we needed a stronger deterrent,” Jaime said. 

“Ellaria was of the same mind, but we decided we could hardly punish anyone for receiving something unsolicited.”

“And they can delete them just as easily,” Jaime replied tersely. “If not, they’re out. At least with us.”

Robb murmured something and Oberyn said, “It’s not a bad stance to take.”

“This shit starts small and gets out of control fast,” Jaime explained. “You know this.”

He and Oberyn shared a loaded look and Jaime was certain the other man was recalling the night Jaime’s so-called brothers had left him on his own and it was Oberyn who provided a recklessly speedy drive to the hospital. Oberyn nodded and brought out his phone. “I’ll let Ellaria call everyone together to discuss it again.”

“Who knew Lannister would come down so hard on this kind of thing,” Robb said with a faintly snide tone. 

Jaime didn’t understand it, but he put on a bright voice and said, “No need to throw a parade. I can only assume that you’ve done the same, haven’t you, Robby?”

Robb gave Jon a side glance and grumbled, “Call a meeting.”

Finishing his message, Oberyn looked up and asked, “Did Dacey decide on the same?”

“I trust her to make the right call without my input,” Jaime replied. 

Huffing, Robb said, “Surprising, I would’ve thought you tried to walk all over her like you do Bronn.” 

Jaime gave him a serene smile. “Either you don’t know exactly who’s been really running Sigma for the last semester or you’re underestimating Dacey to an insulting degree, but either way you’re dead wrong.”

“Why don’t I give her a call then? Maybe she’ll want to join our meeting,” Robb mused aloud. 

“Back off, Stark,” Jaime said warningly. “That’s Sigma’s sister sorority, you can leave the communication to us.”

“How about talking to your _actual_ sister-”

Jon tapped Robb’s chest with the palm of his hand, bringing to attention how the Dire president’s face had gone red, his breathing labored. “Ease up, Robb, it sounds like we’re all on the same side here.”

Considering the strength of Robb’s scowl, Jaime wasn’t too sure about that. Even Oberyn seemed nonplussed by Robb’s harsh turn. 

“Here, I’ll call Jeyne, we’ll meet with them,” Jon added, placating.

Jaime turned his glare on the other man. “I told you, I can talk with the Thorns myself. And Dacey can get a hold of her own people.”

Jon stared at him, obviously confused.

Jaime barely held back an eye roll. “She’s a Thorn? As in Dacey’s responsibility?”

“Oh. Not that Jeyne,” Jon replied. 

“Do you mean one of mine? Sun has two Jeynes,” Oberyn offered. “Lovely ladies.”

“Our Jeyne,” Jon told them. “The president of Beta.”

“Ah,” Oberyn and Jaime said together. 

“I can call her,” Robb announced, not without dramatics. He just as overdramatically whipped out his phone and started going through his long list of contacts. Then he hovered in place, his finger flicking up and then down and then he said to Jon, “Damn, I’ve got like five of them in here that aren’t my- well, that Jeyne.”

“Use last names, man,” Jon said, annoyed. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll get a hold of her.”

Evidently humbled, Robb put his phone away. 

“I’d like to say this has been fun, but…” Jaime trailed off and made a face at Oberyn, who answered with a small smirk. “Oberyn, I’ll catch you later. Robb, I’d prefer never.”

“Same,” Robb shot back. 

Jaime gave him another cloying smile, wondering why all the while - why _this_ guy? But given the rolodex stored in Robb’s phone and the way the other man was immediately diverted by a passing group of coeds, returning their smiles with an allegedly-charming one of his own, well. 

It made Jaime wonder if he wasn’t the only who’d see through Robb in the end.


	31. Sansa III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️ Chapter warnings for seniority and bullying.

**Sansa III**

###### 

Day 8

 **Alayne Stone** : I know it’s late but ?!?!?!?!?

 **Alayne Stone** : How weird was it to see you so close in person? SO WEIRD. I had no idea Taena was next and then the door opened and there you were. 

**Alayne Stone** : You told me you were tall, but I thought you meant my height!

 **Alayne Stone** : Did they accept your bid?

 **Alayne Stone** : It’s totally okay if they didn’t, we can work around it

 **Alayne Stone** : But did they?

\-----------

**To: StarS@westerosu.edu**

**From: TartB@westerosu.edu**

They did. 

I tried texting but it got too long. I think it went well? Margaery Tyrell showed up after you did and she invited me over to the Theta house to meet all the other pledges and members. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure they’d invite me at all, so I was in shock for a little while. 

The house is very nice. They seem nice. Kind of. It’s difficult to say? When Margaery collected me, she said that Dacey had hesitated to accept my bid, which I don’t know how to take. It sounds like the kind of thing someone would say to either make me feel uncertain, maybe to make me more dependent on her to get through the pledge process. It’s awfully early to start pitting people against one another, isn’t it? Then she turned around and was very pleasant, introducing me to everyone, telling them about my major, how I’m a pilot and that I boxed in high school, all the stuff I filled out on the application. Margaery remembered it without looking at any notes. And she did it for everyone. It was very, very strange. 

Dacey seems okay. Quiet. Almost as tall as me, that was interesting. It felt like she was letting Margaery run things, but not in the way you described Melara? Just in a way that she was watchful of everyone and it was Margaery’s place to be the hostess. I don’t know what she saw in me, I felt a little bit like a bug under a microscope. 

I don’t know what to make all of this yet, but I’ll keep you up to date. 

I hope your night went all right. 

Brienne

\-----------

 **Alayne Stone** : It went… just about expected. We can talk about it later. 

###### 

Day 22

 **Alayne Stone** : My hero! R U OK?

 **Sunny Storm** : I’m all right. You?

 **Alayne Stone** : Shaky, but we got out ASAP. Cersei did her ohthehumanity! Bit, laid out on the couch with a cold compress on her head. Drama queen. 

**Sunny Storm** : It was pretty scary for a lot of people.

 **Alayne Stone** : Please, you didn’t see the grin on her face when the fight broke out. She only left because someone knocked over the refreshments table. 

**Alayne Stone** : Now she’s surrounded by pledges who are catering to her hand and foot. It’s revolting.

 **Alayne Stone** : But whatever! Are you sure youre OK?

 **Sunny Storm** : It wasn’t my first run in with Ron, but this one was definitely more satisfying.

 **Alayne Stone** : Is he the one who upset you on sign up day?

 **Sunny Storm** : Safe to say he was the worst of them. 

**Sunny Storm** : We’ve already gotten word that he might be kicked out of school. 

**Alayne Stone** : that’s quick! Where’d you hear that?

 **Sunny Storm** : One of the guys in Sigma told us. 

###### 

Day 40

“Sansa?”

Brienne’s voice was unmistakable - how many years had she heard it on the phone, from leagues and leagues away? It soothed her more than she could possibly say, so Sansa softly replied, “Over here.”

Brienne had to wind around the stacked chairs, boxes, and dusty tables that were jumbled on the fourth floor of the library. Sandor had mentioned it once - before he started avoiding her with prejudice, damn Cersei - that the area was on an otherwise long list of projects for the maintenance department to address. It was obviously still low-ranked, but Sansa couldn’t be sorry for it, especially when she might go out of her mind if she didn’t have an escape from Kappa every once in a while. 

And it could be Brienne’s too, if she needed it; for now, she folded her long limbs into a slightly smaller shape when she hunched down before Sansa. “What happened?”

Sansa wiped her eyes with the back of her hands a few times before saying, “It was one of those nights, you know? Playing along is getting harder.”

“Oh, no.” Her friend sighed and sat next to her. They’d maintained a distance for so long, had never _actually_ spent time together, but Brienne seemed to know the right thing to do, even if she was awkward in doing it. She wrapped an arm around Sansa’s shoulders and brought her in, a little at a time, until Sansa turned her face into Brienne’s shoulder and cried a little bit more. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

It took a couple minutes of sniffling and hiccuping breaths, but Sansa was able to answer, “She was in high form last night. I had no idea what was planned until after it started.”

Brienne remained silent. Her silences were as familiar as her voice, the safe space Sansa needed to gather her thoughts and sort out what she could bear to say. She was so glad Brienne was there, so damn glad, even if they were running a risk in meeting up. 

“She had the pledges sit on the washing machine in their bathing costumes and got out grease pens and” - Sansa covered her face with her hands - “ _ugh_ , it was awful, Brienne. Those poor girls. They were so humiliated and I had to stand there and tell them we were trying to _help_ them. Some of them have already started on diets and they don’t need to, not at all.”

“That… that didn’t happen last year, did it?”

“No,” Sansa whispered. “I don’t know if Melara stopped it or if Cersei was saving it for a special occasion, but no.”

“Still.”

“Yeah, still.”

“I’m so sorry, Sansa.”

“She’s so evil. So godsdamned evil, I can’t even…” For some reason, Sansa found herself laughing, a helpless, desperate sound. “How does someone become so horrible?”

“I can’t even begin to guess,” Brienne said sadly. “Sansa, you have to tell me if this is getting to be too much. We can stop it all, you can quit Kappa and get out of there. I know that video from last year is still an issue-”

“Oh, sod that damn video!” Sansa exclaimed angrily. “I would post the damned thing myself if it meant that Cersei got her due. I don’t care about me anymore, Brienne, I just… watching it happen to others, somehow it’s even _worse._ ”

Brienne quickly nodded. “Okay, all right, whatever you want.”

“Don’t.” Sansa breathed in deeply. “I’m not mad at you, I’m sorry. It’s difficult, is all.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I understand.”

But she did feel like it, Sansa wanted to apologize over and over, to a multitude of people, beginning with Brienne. What would her first semester at WU even been like, if neither of them had even glanced in the direction of Sorority Row? She’d plonked her friend right in the middle of it all and would be as much to blame if they pulled similar tricks in Theta. 

That in mind, Sansa asked, “Are you doing all right? They haven’t done anything like that to you, have they?”

“No, not even close,” Brienne said. She was the sort to keep things quiet to make a person feel better, that was pure Brienne, but the look on her face and the firmness in her voice were indisputable and Sansa felt her own body relax ever so slightly in relief. “Sansa, actually, I really like them. I’ve watched and watched, but there hasn’t been any sign that they will ever do something that awful.”

Sansa bit her lip and looked down, glad and envious all at once. 

It was apparently obvious, because Brienne kindly said, “Whenever you want out, just say the word, okay?”

“Okay,” Sansa said back, though she suspected they both knew she never would. Not if she could stop whatever possibly came next. 

###### 

Day 62

 **Alayne Stone** : That was so close! 

**Alayne Stone** : What did you do with them?

 **Alayne Stone** : CERSEI IS SO MAD AND IT SO HARD NOT TO LAUGH RIGHT NOW

 **Alayne Stone** : PLUS NO ONE IS DRUNK AND SHE CANT FIGURE OUT WHY, B I MIGHT BUST SOMETHING FROM HOLDING IT ALL IN

 **Alayne Stone** : SWEET SWEET SUCCESS ISNT IT AMAAZING?????

 **Sunny Storm** : I’d love to agree, but I just had to run from Kappa with a box full of… things

 **Alayne Stone** : MY HERO

 **Sunny Storm** : One of them started buzzing and that was it, I tossed them in a dumpster. I draw the line at the buzzing. 

**Alayne Stone** : HAHAHAHA BUUUUUUUZZZZ 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🥩

 **Sunny Storm** : Did you trade out ALL the wine out for the nonalcoholic bottles? 

**Alayne Stone** : IMIGHT HAVE KEPT ONE TO CELBRATE

 **Alayne Stone** : dum dum dumdum dum dum dumdum dum dum

 **Sunny Storm** : What in the world is that supposed to be?

 **Alayne Stone** : The mission impossible theme song, for you, mY HERO

 **Alayne Stone** : were you wearing glitter???

###### 

Day 76

 **Alayne Stone** : IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY

 **Sunny Storm** : It’s okay, I swear.

 **Alayne Stone** : IT IS NOT OKAY I AM SO SORRY

 **Sunny Storm** : I knew what was coming, I stayed so you could do it. Figured it would help you get in Cersei’s good graces. 

**Alayne Stone** : I am still so so so sorry.

 **Sunny Storm** : I’m sorry, too, I didn’t think Meera would get after you like that. 

**Alayne Stone** : You are way too nice, do you know that? I deserved it and Meera knew it.

 **Sunny Storm** : I didn’t know you knew each other from before. 

**Alayne Stone** : Yeah, she used to date Bran. I liked her for him, but he messed it up by being very Bran. 

**Sunny Storm** : She said that you tried to warn her off from pledging? 

**Alayne Stone** : I was afraid she’d follow me into Kappa, so I might have been a little… bitchy. 

**Sunny Storm** : She didn’t say that.

 **Alayne Stone** : She might not have SAID it, but I know Meera and she without a doubt was thinking it. 

**Alayne Stone** : But all’s well that ends well, if both of you are going to be Thorns come tomorrow. 

**Alayne Stone** : I’m really happy for you, B. I’m really glad they aren’t anything like the Kappas, if both you and Meera have found a place there. 

**Alayne Stone** : It’s the one thing that makes me feel better about all of this these days. 

**Sunny Storm** : <3

###### 

Day 94

 **Sunny Storm** : You need to get to my dorm room. Now.

 **Alayne Stone** : Is Taena there??? She took off and I’ve been looking for her everywhere.

 **Sunny Storm** : No, she was here, but she’s gone. But you need to come. 

**Sunny Storm** : Margaery is here. She knows. 

**Alayne Stone** : ...

 **Alayne Stone** : What do you mean she knows?

 **Sunny Storm** : About you and me, how we’re firends, how we’re working together on something. She figured it out and followed me here and now she wants to talk to us both.

 **Alayne Stone** : …

 **Alayne Stone** : SHIT

 **Alayne Stone** : SHITSHITSHIT

 **Alayne Stone** : I AM ON MY WY

 **Alayne Stone** : SHIIIIIIIT

###### 

Day 111

 **Sansa Stark** : Have you talked to Brienne? She’s been kinda quiet these past few days.

 **Margaery Tyrell** : Not recently. Perhaps she’s busy? Is she not answering you?

 **Sansa Stark** : She is, but it’s weird. Look. 

**Sansa Stark** : image.png

 **Margaery Tyrell** : Who are Alayne and Sunny?

 **Margaery Tyrell** : Oh my *goodness*, are those your code names? That is so adorable. 

**Sansa Stark** : Just look, will you? She seems off.

 **Margaery Tyrell** : She’s probably just distracted from being at home. I’ll reach out to her if you’re concerned, though.

 **Margaery Tyrell** : But *far* more importantly, do I get a code name? I can be Midnight Rose.

 **Margaery Tyrell** : Or Sasha de Fleur

 **Margaery Tyrell** : How about Bella Luz? 

**Petunia Greene** : I’ve got oodles of ideas.

 **Sansa Stark** : Oh, don’t worry about it. I already decided on something. 

###### 

Day 117

The door was thick and her knuckles smarted from rapping away at it numerous times. Finally, she got an answer.

“Go away, Sansa.”

It wasn’t a _great_ answer.

She rolled her eyes and knocked again. “Wow, Robb, that's certainly in the spirit of the holiday.”

“Holiday’s over, now go away.”

“Can’t do it,” Sansa said simply. “I can stay here forever, just knock-knock-knocking-”

She proved it, tapping at the door again until she was tapping at nothing but air when Robb finally opened it. 

“You are such a pain in the ass,” he told her. 

“Cheer up, it sounds like you dodged a major bullet. Unless you _wanted_ a monster-in-law,” Sansa said glibly. She ducked under Robb’s arm to walk inside his room. Bracing herself inwardly, she turned and said, “Close the door. We need to talk.”

“I’m really not in the mood-”

“Robb.” She said it as steely as she could manage and it worked, because Robb stopped and gave her a curious look. “Trust me. We need to talk.”


	32. Day 119

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long delay and it's all Kirazi's fault. She introduced me to The Queen's Thief series and I fell far, far down the rabbit hole. I highly recommend it!
> 
> But, uh, Kirazi is not to blame for this chapter. That's all me.

Day 119

At Tyrion’s third pronouncement that Jaime was being a _total bummer,_ Jaime peered at his little brother and back to the television. The distraction almost caused the car he was navigating to careen off course. He grunted in dismay as he righted it. “Focus, Tyrion.”

“I’m super focused. Look at me, talking and kicking your ass at the same time. It’s called multitasking,” Tyrion replied.

“Dirty little cheater,” Jaime said under his breath when Tyrion’s car zipped out of sight and the Game Over banner splayed out on Jaime’s half of the screen. 

Tyrion tossed his controller forward and lifted his hands in the air, making a triumphant _ahhhh_ sound. It lasted a brief moment and then his hands dropped and he said, “Okay, what the hell?”

“What?” Jaime asked irritably.

“Total. Bummer.” Tyrion said it forcefully, poking at Jaime’s arm. “Don’t make me ask about it.”

“I wouldn’t tell you anything anyway.” Jaime fell back against the couch cushions and crossed his arms. “Leave it alone, it’s none of your business.”

Tyrion frowned at him and then half-heartedly picked the controller back up and tossed it again. “Okay, fine.”

He left the room, not giving Jaime a backward glance; in his absence, Jaime put his head back and stared at the high ceiling. As much as he’d tried to put it out of mind, to enjoy Sevenmas with his family - a novelty, but a welcome one - Jaime had to admit he hadn’t been wholly successful at it. His dad and Cersei might not have noticed, but Tyrion certainly had. 

Jaime was in the middle of clearing the mess they’d made when Tyrion came back in, a large, thick rectangle tucked underneath his arm and an intent look on his face. First pointing to the space in front of the couch and then scattering a pile of popcorn from the coffee table to the floor, Tyrion set down what turned out to be a clunky old laptop and looked expectantly to where Jaime still stood. 

“Wassail didn’t work, presents didn’t work, me throwing a snowball at Cersei’s head didn’t work,” Tyrion said blithely. “Time for the big guns.”

“You did that for yourself,” Jaime muttered as he kneeled down. 

“I did that for us,” Tyrion replied. He booted up the computer and took a large breath as he opened a series of folders. “You need to swear something.”

Concerned and uncertain, Jaime said, “What’s going on?”

“Promise you won’t tell dad or Cersei?” Tyrion turned to him again, his expression drawn. “Maybe one day I’ll… but, just don’t?”

“Okay,” Jaime replied, regretting it as he said it, but then the next second all promises and regrets fell away entirely.

There was a laugh from the screen, one he hadn’t heard in years, one he thought he might have forgotten and Jaime reeled back when he saw the face to match it. He looked quickly at Tyrion - his little brother was biting his lower lip, his eyes wide with worry - and Jaime let out a huge gust of air. 

It was Joanna Lannister. His mom. Their mom.

Jaime sat back on his heels, his eyes caught on the screen where his mom giggled with someone unseen. The focus went in and out and whoever held the camera was walking along with her; they were in the house, _their house_ , in a hallway that Jaime could walk through if he just went out the door of the media room. 

They were speaking, but Jaime couldn’t make heads or tails of the conversation, his attention rapt on his mother’s open smile and her laugh when a pair of heads with curly blonde hair bobbed around her knees. She lifted one of them up and he couldn’t tell if it was himself or Cersei - he hoped it was him. He wished he could _remember_.

Jaime shot his hand forward, pressing the space button, thankful it made the action pause. His voice was low as he asked, “Where did you get this?”

“Uh… I found it?” When Jaime gave him a sharp glance, Tyrion shrugged. “A couple years ago in the closet. I’d asked dad for a laptop I could take apart and he said he wouldn’t buy me a new one, but then I found this one. I checked before clearing the hard drive and, well.”

Looking down, Jaime asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Tyrion.”

His little brother sighed. Jaime waited. Finally, “It was mine. She was mine, for a while. It felt nice.”

It pained him to hear it, but Jaime nodded. “I get it.”

“But you… it seemed like you needed it more than I needed to keep it to myself anymore,” Tyrion said quietly. 

Jaime wiped at his nose. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Tyrion gave him another assessing look and, at Jaime’s silent cue, turned the video back on. They watched in silence for several minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts, Jaime laughing unexpectedly when one of the twins took a spill and the video shut down immediately after. He remembered that, vaguely, and had the scar on his knee to match. 

“I always wondered where we got our curly hair,” Tyrion said out of nowhere. 

Clearing his throat, Jaime gave him a curious look.

“All the pictures and portraits, her hair is straight, the way Cersei does hers,” Tyrion explained. “You know, all…” he made a pose, stiffening his back and folding his hands at his waist, mouth spread in a practiced smile. 

“Yeah,” Jaime said roughly. “She was always… put together.”

She’d been a Kappa, too, Jaime knew. At Tyrion’s posturing, he wondered at Cersei’s picture-perfect mimicry, wondered how much was intentional or not. But he also remembered, with sudden clarity, how his mother would come home from one of the endless charity galas and business dinners she and Tywin had to attend. She would take off her tall, spiky heels with a groan of relief and toss them aside as soon as she got in the door, unpinning her hair and yelling _Where are my babies!_ to his and Cersei’s delight. 

It made his chest hurt and warm all at the same time. 

How could he have forgotten?

Deliberately careful, Jaime reached forward and closed the laptop. 

“Are you…” Tyrion trailed off.

“Thank you,” Jaime told him. The silence stretched between them and when Jaime felt he could, he said, “I’ll see more later. For now…”

“I get it,” Tyrion said back. 

Jaime breathed in deeply. Much as it still ached, he found himself smiling and he stood up. “Come on. Put it away and meet me outside.”

Tyrion tugged the laptop up and gripped it close. “For what?”

“There’s something that mom really liked,” Jaime answered. He felt his smile spread and knew if he saw it in the mirror, he would see what had graced his mother’s face in the video; real and happy and gone for far too long. “I want to show you.”


	33. Day 248

Day 248

When Margaery invited them out for a late celebratory meal, Jaime had ruefully prepared himself for disappointing fare: small, bite-sized tapas and overly complicated drinks with herbal sugared rims or orange peels plopped inside a glass with a spoonful of liquor. He hadn’t expected this at all.

He and Addam exchanged confused smiles as they walked into what could be generously termed a dive bar and they paused at the doorway, adjusting to the dimmed interior lights. They heard Margaery before finding her in one of the tall-backed booths against a side wall and she enthusiastically waved them over once she caught their attention. 

“Addam!” She cried joyfully as they crossed the room. “Congratulations!”

“Madam President,” Addam replied with a half-bow. 

Margaery held out her hand in a posh wave. “Thank you, thank you.” She put her hand down to drum it on the table with her other and announced, “May I present my second in command…”

She came into sight just as Margaery spread her arms out and happily declared, “Brienne Tarth!”

Brienne put her fingertips to her forehead, but her body shook with poorly contained laughter. Jaime gaped at her and then at Margaery. 

Addam exclaimed, “Holy shit, Tarth! Who knew?”

“I definitely didn’t,” Brienne replied. 

She started scooting aside to allow Addam to take a seat, but Margaery ostentatiously cleared her throat and said, “Darling Addam, are you honestly passing up the chance to sit by me?’

“Gods, what could I be thinking?” Addam said airly and changed to the other seat. “Will you ever forgive me?”

“I suppose you’ll have all of next year to grovel,” Margaery teased him, keeping his attention as Jaime slid into the bench next to Brienne and they traded warm looks.

“Congratulations,” Jaime told her and Brienne ducked her head. 

“I can’t believe they voted me in,” Brienne replied. “Just yesterday I was asked if I’d be interested and then today and… yeah. I’m not sure any of us really thought this through.”

“Can’t think of anyone better than you to keep up with Margaery,” Jaime assured her.

Brienne’s chuckle stuttered when Jaime put his right hand on her leg under the table and she similarly fumbled out, “Th-that’s what Dacey said.”

“I’ve always liked Dacey,” Jaime replied. 

“So I’ve heard,” Brienne said with a mocking glare. 

Jaime threw his head back and laughed, pleased when Brienne lifted his hand to entwine it with hers and placed them both against her thigh. Margaery drew his eye from across the table and Jaime gave her an acknowledging nod. Between the mostly private booths and generally older crowd, he could surmise what she intended and he wordlessly thanked her. When Margaery just as silently preened, he observed, “Interesting place, Tyrell.”

“The burgers are to die for,” she said as a waiter approached. At Jaime and Addam’s raised eyebrows, Margaery added, “Don’t look so surprised. I contain multitudes.”

Jaime used his free hand to take a cursory look at the menu, but took Margaery’s recommendation and after their waiter departed, they got down to business. 

“I’d like to present a toast to next year’s leadership for Sigma and Theta,” Margaery said loftily, picking up her glass. She smirked when Jaime reached over his place setting to get it from his opposite side. “I think we’ve got a great partnership and I’d like to keep it going.”

“Hear-hear,” Addam agreed and all four clinked their glasses together. 

“Not that I’m not glad to see you, Addam,” Brienne said, “but I thought I heard Bronn was still going to be around next year.”

“Just for a few classes, but he’s had enough of being in charge,” Addam said with a grin, “or at least pretending at it while Jaime really ran things. And I’ll be ready to take the reins if Jaime gets... distracted again.”

“But did you die?” Jaime demanded. 

“You almost did, several times,” Addam replied glibly. 

Brienne toyed with the straw in her drink. “Heard about anybody else?”

“Jon’s taking over at Dire, no surprise there. Oberyn and Ellaria kept their spots,” Addam rattled off. 

Margaery checked her phone and said, “Looks like Cersei decided to have a VP next year, after all. She picked Sansa.”

Jaime let out an involuntary _ow_ when Brienne’s fingers spasmed tightly against his. She sent him an apologetic look while Addam made a curious noise. “- _ow-aaah_ , that is interesting,” Jaime said. “Cersei hadn’t said.”

“Breaking news.” Margaery wiggled her phone in the air. “I always have my finger on the pulse of the campus.”

“And ears everywhere, even in your rival’s house,” Addam said. “I’m impressed.”

Margaery set her chin on her knuckles and fluttered her lashes. “Addam, you couldn’t even begin to know.”

“Then I’m glad you’re on our side,” Addam said just as flirtatiously. Jaime gave Brienne a side-eye and she chortled in response. 

They’d barely started reviewing the projects they’d like to keep or discard in the coming year when the food arrived. Despite Brienne’s tentative tug to loosen Jaime’s grip, he kept their fingers laced together, gamely using his opposite to slather condiments on the burger bun and then lifted the whole thing to his mouth; it was overfilled and bits of lettuce and bacon slithered back onto his plate. 

“Having a little difficulty there, Jaime?” Margaery asked, her expression knowing and taunting. “Need a hand?”

“Totally fine,” Jaime mumbled around a mouthful and gave her a messy grin when she scrunched her nose in disgust. 

“I may not know everything Margaery does, but I’m not stupid, Jaime,” Addam cut in. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jaime replied. He playfully squeezed Brienne’s hand. “Does anybody else?”

“Nope,” Brienne said succinctly and dove into her own meal. 

“She said, too quickly,” Addam said. But he put his palms up. “Fine. I would think as your usual partner-in-crime, your VP, your _life long friend_ -”

“Do you really want to know?” Margaery asked him. “Because I can tell you. I can tell you everything. But you can’t unring a bell.”

“Funny how my business became your bell to ring,” Jaime said irritably.

“Oh, sweetling,” Margaery said, almost pityingly, “this stopped being solely your business a long, long time ago.”


	34. Day 191

Day 191

Sansa left first, escorted out by Theon, who didn’t need any explanations but was happy enough to see her back to Kappa. Margaery followed ten minutes later with Jon. If anyone asked - and no one would, Dire members knew to keep their mouths shut - there was a playful flirtation happening between the two, though everyone knew she would eat him alive if he ventured to ask for a real chance. 

Robb and Brienne loitered in the otherwise empty game room on the first floor, its many distractions set aside so the house members could focus on studying for midterms. It would have been the perfect opportunity to venture a question of his own, but Brienne seemed preoccupied. Minutes passed and she silently moved between the lumpy sofas and thumbed at a stack of board games on a nearby end table. 

Most anyone else would have filled the space with chatter and Robb knew it wasn’t Brienne’s way, but something seemed especially off tonight. Because of it, he only eyed the clock and asked, “Ready?”

Obviously startled, Brienne blinked at him a few times and said, “Yeah. Um, well, good night.”

“Let me walk you home,” Robb said, likely more brashly than he intended because Brienne blinked rapidly once more. From any other girl, it would have been an invitation; Brienne only looked puzzled. “It’s the least I can do.”

She gave him a wry smile. “I’m hardly helpless.”

“Wouldn’t ever call you that,” Robb replied. Steady. Sensible. Trustworthy. He’d use any of those instead. Gods, his mother would love her if he managed not to muck this up. “Humor me.”

Brienne gave him another small smile as she shrugged. She followed him out, but took a left instead of a right on the sidewalk in front of Dire, ensuring they’d take the long way around to Theta, and Robb was heartened by the choice. Night had fallen during the time everyone had met up, a lot of which had been taken up by them silently observing Margaery and Sansa’s plotting. Truthfully, Robb hardly needed to stay, his role was to provide a meet up, away from prying eyes but - Brienne. A long walk home would be the perfect way to recenter. 

“Any plans for break?” He tested out the question, hoping it would break through Brienne’s introspection. 

“Nothing solid yet,” Brienne answered. “You?”

“Theon’s dad is letting us use his cabin on the Pyke. It’s not fancy, but we don’t need it to be. Lots of fishing, camping, that sort of thing.”

“Sounds fun.” 

She sounded like she meant it and, encouraged, Robb said, “It’s a small group, but you’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

“That’s… thank you,” Brienne said slowly. They turned the corner at the end of the street, keeping in step with one another between yellow circles of lamplight. “Can I think on it?”

“Of course.” Robb bounced his shoulder against her arm. “It’d be fun, getting to spend more time together.”

Brienne took a deep breath as if to speak, then she did it again. “About that.”

“Yeah?”

“People have… I mean, your sister and… I’ve been asked a few times now,” she stumbled out. Her face went red with her flustered words and Robb smothered a grin. After all the ways he’d struggled to find a way to ask and here she was the one taking the step - he was delighted to be wrongfooted for once. Brienne finished in a rush: “They think we’re dating.”

When she didn’t say anything further - instead she stared straight ahead, her cheeks flushed - Robb asked, “Is that really so far from the truth?”

Brienne spun her head around toward him in surprise.

“We’ve been hanging out, gone for dinner a couple times,” Robb said.

“Because of Sansa, to cover for the…” Brienne trailed off. She licked her lips and stopped in place, leaving them in the dimmest part of the block and Robb couldn’t have planned it better. When he moved to put them face-to-face, Brienne breathed out, “You want to date me?”

“I thought we should talk about it before calling it anything,” Robb said agreeably. “The way we’ve gotten to know each other is strange, but I have a good feeling about it, about you.”

“Robb…”

“Sansa will be thrilled. She’s never liked anybody I’ve dated, but she loves you and I can see why. You’re a really special person, Brienne.”

Brienne sighed. “Robb.”

He sighed, too. “I’m so glad we’re finally talking about this. I’ve been trying to figure out a way for weeks.”

At first it seemed like he missed, that in the evening shadows he miscalculated in reaching for Brienne’s hand but then her palm firmly gripped his forearm and, with it, a yawning, sinking sensation enveloped his midsection.

“Robb,” she said again, and he finally heard it, the distress in her voice. “Robb, thank you, but I… I don’t feel the same way.”

It was his turn to blink. Multiple times. So many times that a solid half-minute passed before he could manage to say, “I don’t- I don’t understand. We get along great.”

“We do,” Brienne said softly.

“I think you’re wonderful.”

He couldn’t see her blush, but Brienne’s voice was achingly kind as she said, “Thank you. I- you- I think _you’re_ wonderful.”

“Then _why_?” Robb asked. “Because you were Sansa’s friend first? Or because I’m graduating soon? Those are hardly reasons to not give this a chance.”

“No, not for any of that-”

“Because I’m shorter than you? I don’t care about that at all, I think it’s rather interesting, actually-”

Brienne let loose an unamused _hah_ of a laugh. “If I wanted someone taller than me, I’d definitely be alone forever.”

“Then what is it?” Robb pulled his arm enough for Brienne to loosen her grip and then he clasped her hand in his. “I like you.”

She squeezed his hand once and drew away. “It doesn’t have anything to do with you. I… I have feelings for someone else. I thought the feelings would go away and they haven’t. It’s not fair of me to start something with you when I-”

“I understand,” Robb said abruptly, though he didn’t. He definitely didn’t.

“I’m sorry. I really am. If I knew you- I would have told you sooner, I should have-”

“No, it’s not like I said anything before now,” Robb conceded. 

“I should-” Brienne cut herself off. “I should like you. I should want this. You’re so… If I wrote down a year ago what I wished for, he would look like you. Smart. Handsome. Undeniably _good._ ”

“Not much consolation,” Robb said dryly. “But something happened in the last year? Someone?”

“Last semester, yes,” Brienne replied quietly. 

Robb pivoted in place, motioning for Brienne to continue and they resumed walking. “Can I ask what happened?”

“Nothing,” Brienne said, her voice purposefully bland. 

“Had to be something important, if he’s still on your mind.” Robb paused, uncertain. “You’re all right, aren’t you? He didn’t do anything to hurt you?”

“No, nothing like that,” Brienne quickly corrected him. “From what a friend of his just said, I’m the one who hurt him.”

She seemed so surprised by it, and so sad, that Robb had to put aside his own hurt feelings. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to.”

“I didn’t… but I did.” Brienne sighed again. “It’s complicated.”

“Lot of that going around these days,” Robb agreed. 

Brienne’s words were caught in stops and starts and then she blurted out, “I don’t know what to do. I keep thinking about him, but it’s pointless.”

“Far be it from me to give advice to the girl who just rejected me” - Robb shrugged, trying hard not to show much it stung - “but if he likes you so much that he’s upset over missing out on you and you like him so much that you’re upset about it, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“There’s definitely a problem.”

“It’s not a professor, is it?”

“Gods, no,” Brienne said, sounding horrified. 

“Then what is it?”

“It’s… he’s…” Brienne groaned in absolute, unfiltered misery. “Everything would be so much easier if I’d never talked to Jaime in the first place.”

Robb’s feet nearly tripped him over and he fumbled to a stop and the sound of Brienne’s gasp told him that she probably hadn’t meant to say those last several words. 

They stared at once another and, in that brief moment, Robb knew he shouldn’t hold out a hope that Jaime was the friend who had passed on a message, but was in fact the subject of the message itself. 

Brienne’s eyes went round and she begged in a low voice, “Please don’t tell Sansa.” 

“Jaime Lannister,” Robb sounded out. “Jaime. Lannister.”

“Yes,” Brienne said reluctantly.

“Jaime,” Robb repeated. “Lannister?”

“Stop saying his name!”

“You’re throwing me over for Jaime _Lannister_?”

“How could I throw you over if we were never dating?” Brienne said in a fierce whisper. 

“I don’t know if I should feel worse or not!” Robb exclaimed. 

“You shouldn’t feel anything! It’s not as if I asked you to,” Brienne snapped. 

“Wow.” Robb said it again, over and over until Briennne groaned for him to shut up already and Robb was so startled by it that he did. 

“Look,” she began and then stopped. Placing her hands to her hips, she visibly braced and carefully said, “Just give me a chance to tell Sansa myself, okay?”

It wormed its way past Robb’s affronted senses, the way Brienne was so resigned and defeated in saying it. Though he would have rather not have, Robb told her “I won’t. You don’t have to, either. That’s… that’s your business.”

“I wish it was,” Brienne replied. “I wish he had nothing to do with any of this, but it’s his sister that _your_ sister is working against.”

Robb nodded silently.

It was enough to break the dam, apparently, because Brienne kept going. “He’s not Cersei, he doesn't do awful things like she does. I know that much. But I don’t know how much he knows, how much he turns a blind eye. I couldn’t risk it.”

Regarding that, Robb understood. It was a question he’d asked himself ever since Sansa had bothered to tell him what she’d gone through for over a year at Cersei’s hands and it had turned his casual dislike of Jaime Lannister to full blown detestation when they came back for the semester, a sentiment Jaime had returned in spades, without question.

 _Oh gods,_ Robb thought with sudden realization, _is_ that _why?_ All of Jaime’s glares, the increased vitriol sent Robb’s way when they were in the same room, when there was no way the man could have known about their secret scheming. 

“Wow,” Robb repeated, mainly to himself. To be sure, he asked, “Did you... do whatever you did before we came back in January?”

“Yes,” Brienne said slowly and Robb fought to not laugh out loud. She would take it wrong, he knew. Plus, really, it wasn’t funny at all. To have something in common with Jaime was nothing Robb had ever expected, and he certainly never thought it would be that they were both hung up on the same girl. 

“It’s pointless anyhow,” Brienne continued, oblivious to how Robb’s mind raced. “Nothing can happen and there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s too much at stake.”

“Because of Sansa. And Cersei,” Robb wondered aloud.

Brienne winced. “Yes.” 

They’d reached Sorority Row without noticing, their long walk ending on a note far from what Robb had originally anticipated. He gazed back in the direction they’d come and was struck again, this time by Brienne’s wordless navigation, away from where they would have had to pass Sigma if they’d gone the other way. 

It was a revelation and Robb felt a little like a hapless fool to discover it. He looked up at Brienne, the way she bit her lip in nervousness, and couldn’t ignore the significant pang of disappointment to know he’d never get to find if they were as soft as they looked. He’d fully expected he would, eventually, and wasn’t that another kick in the teeth? To be so certain, and so wrong. 

“Brienne.” Robb waited until she caught his gaze in return. “I don’t like Jaime.”

“I… okay?”

“I think he’s rude and vain and he doesn’t take half of what he does seriously,” Robb continued, eager to get it out of the way. “He’s not as funny as he thinks he is and he’s going to coast through his life on his dad’s money and I really, really resent that sometimes.”

“All right, I get it,” Brienne grumbled and cast her eyes aside. 

“But he’s not his sister,” Robb said firmly. Brienne jolted back to face him, her eyes big and blue and questioning. “Given what you've told me and if he likes you, maybe he’s not as completely brainless as I’ve always assumed. He’s… not like her and I don't think he'd want to be.”

“How do you know that?” Brienne asked with transparent hope and it burned to know that it wasn’t for himself. “How can you be sure?”

“You know that big push to kick out people for having Taena’s photos?” Robb bit back a sigh. “That was Jaime. He’s the one who made that happen. The rest of us were a lot more lenient before that.”

“Oh,” Brienne said softly. She took several seconds to think it over. “I see.”

“The way I see it, those aren’t the actions of a guy who condones what Cersei’s been doing.” It’d been easier not to admit it to himself, but - Brienne. She needed to hear it. “I don’t know what you can do with that, but you should know that much. Maybe it’ll help you figure out what to do about him.”

“Robb…” She sounded sad again and maybe that made him feel just the tiniest bit better and then - just as quickly - much, much worse. 

Not ready to examine that too closely, Robb gave Brienne a brief, loose hug and brightened his voice to say, “It’s fine. Still friends?”

“I’d like that,” Brienne said with a nod. 

She left him alone on the sidewalk, no kiss goodbye or plans to meet up again. Robb turned to leave and then turned again, pausing in his step toward the Theta front door. He didn’t feel like hearing Theon’s heckling laughs or Jon’s sympathetic hums, but asking for Dacey to meet for a beer so he could purge out the whole mess didn’t sit right either, not when it was about one of her sisters. 

For the first time in a long time, he’d have to hash this out on his own, he supposed. Sighing, Robb turned on his heel and started on a much longer walk home. 


	35. Day 194

Day 194

Whatever it was - a change in the air, a frisson of unconscious awareness - that made him look from his textbook to the door of the cafe, well, he could have done without it.

Jaime turned his face back down, staring at the words that had become an unrelenting jumble half an hour before and looked no clearer now. He knew it was long past time that he gave up the ghost, that the carefully curated study patterns he’d adopted his freshman year weren’t going to do a lick of good, but the only other option was to look up again, to risk catching Brienne’s eye from his small table in the corner.

He wasn’t proud of the cold shoulder he’d resorted to, but it was far better than their brief, stilted interactions whenever their houses met up for a game night or at the home they were rehabbing or even when he just saw her somewhere on campus. Worse was whenever she _wasn’t_ alone, or someone mentioned that she’s was off to meet somebody, somebody who was obviously-

“Hi.”

Jaime’s brain screeched to a stop. He peered up to find Brienne standing there, a paper cup in each hand. She hesitated and then jerked one forward in offering. “It’s tea, I know, I mean I remember, that that’s what you…”

She drifted off, looking more and more uncomfortable the longer Jaime didn’t say anything. Training his expression into something unaffected, Jaime reached out and took the cup, muttering his thanks.

There was a timidity to her that Jaime wasn’t used to; Brienne could be shy and reserved, but he’d seen her bold enough, nervy enough that _timid_ looked wrong on her now. He felt, even as she took the seat across from him, that she likely wished to be anywhere else. He wished she’d follow that urge, and go. 

Or, more accurately, he wished he could wish for her to go. Sighing inwardly, Jaime asked, “What’s up?”

“I can go if you’re busy,” Brienne replied. “You probably still have studying to do.”

Uninterested in pretending at it, Jaime flipped the text shut and said, “I’m fine.”

The cup she’d kept was trapped between her palms and Brienne stared intently at it for several seconds. He could practically see the words running like a ticker tape over her eyes and felt his insides tighten up, anxious at even wondering what she planned on saying. 

Then: “I need to apologize to you.”

Jaime leaned back in his chair, skirting his eyes away when Brienne lifted her own to meet him. Keeping his voice light, he asked, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Brienne replied, more steadily than before. “I… I got things all wrong and you deserved better than what I did.”

“Uh, which part?” He hardened his expression in response to the sudden sharp stab of remembered hurt. “The very polite kiss off during break? Or that the thing you were needing to concentrate on was actually Stark?”

Brienne looked shaken by his reply, her eyes wide. 

“What? He already dumped you and now you’re trying to figure out if I’m still on the hook?” Jaime pushed the untouched cup back at her. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“No,” Brienne said quietly, hurriedly. “That’s not… no, Jaime.”

“So you’re just clearing the air, then? That’s very thoughtful,” Jaime replied. “How much does he know about what went on between us? Are you afraid I’ll tell him?”

“Damn it, Jaime.” Brienne covered her eyes with her hand and inhaled deeply, dropping it as she exhaled. In a much calmer tone, she said, “I know what it looked like, I do. You- You have every reason to be angry with me because of what it looked like, but it wasn’t like that. Robb and I were never together. We’re never going to be together.”

It made him pause, and it made him suspicious, so Jaime kept silent. 

“What I did, that text, everything since then,” Brienne said slowly, “I’ve regretted it so much. So, so much.”

It was difficult to trust it and Jaime braced himself as he said, “Well great, all we need is a time machine and you can hop back-”

“I knew you wouldn’t make this easy, but could you at least let me finish?” She strummed her fingers against the cup and Jaime inwardly relished at her telltale annoyance. “Just… I don’t expect forgiveness, or even understanding, but can I?”

Jaime mimed zipping his lips shut and then spread his palm out in invitation. Brienne glared at him and he added an ear-to-ear grin that made her glower even harder. 

She tipped her head down again and it was a fair few moments before she raised it to say, “When I sent that text, I thought the only person I was hurting was myself.”

Jaime cocked his head and Brienne seemed to know he was ready to object because she raised a hand and kept going. “There were things going on that I didn’t want to drag you into and I felt the right thing to do was to end it. And I- I didn’t think you felt the same as I did, or at least as much as I did-”

“Come on, that’s such bullshit,” Jaime blurted out.

He wanted her to argue, to maybe raise her voice, but Brienne flinched instead, softly saying, “Yeah, it seems like it was.” 

All he could do was stare at her.

“Jaime, I’m sorry.” Her chin wobbled slightly, stopped when Brienne bit down on her lower lip and nodded decisively. “I underestimated you and what you felt and I am sorry.”

It felt unfinished, but then hadn’t all his interactions with Brienne felt that way? Jaime swallowed hard, searching for the words for a long time, finally coming up with, “Why now? What are you hoping will happen here, Brienne?”

“I’m not hoping for anything,” Brienne answered. “I know I can’t take any of it back, but you deserved to know that what happened had nothing to do with you - directly, at least. I wanted to make things right because you deserve better than people lying to you or hiding things when you should know, when you can make a difference.”

Brienne took another large breath and Jaime felt the world drop out from underneath him when she said, “You deserve to know about what’s going on with your sister.”


	36. Day 195

Day 195

Brienne crossed her arms and waited. She could feel Margaery’s eyes on her, but she kept her own gaze on where Sansa agitatedly walked back and forth in the empty classroom and sat up straighter when Sansa finally stopped. 

“I need you to say that one more time- no.” Sansa shook her head and set her jaw. “No, scratch that. I need to hear you say that you didn’t just put all that we’ve done at risk because you decided it was a good idea to tell Jaime Lannister everything.”

“Not everything,” Brienne repeated as evenly as possible.

“But enough,” Sansa said shortly.

Brienne couldn’t help but send a pleading glance in Margaery’s direction, then wrestled it down. She stiffened her shoulders and said, “I kept your name out of it, and Margaery’s. All I told him was that Cersei had been doing awful things to the girls in her house and that there are people who want to see her answer for the things she’d done.”

“And you just _volunteered_ this?”

“He didn’t know,” Brienne earnestly replied. “He deserved to know.”

Sansa tossed her arms out in frustration. “Are you kidding me? Who’s to say he didn’t?”

“He didn’t,” Brienne protested. “If you’d seen his face, Sansa, you wouldn’t be asking me this. I know you don’t know him well, but Margaery does and- and I do, too. It’s right that he knows, it’s his sister-”

“His sister _,_ exactly. His _twin_ ,” Sansa cut in. “Surprised or not, do you really think he’s not going to run and tell her about this?”

“He said he wouldn’t-”

Scoffing loudly, Sansa started pacing again. “Right, because a Lannister is known for keeping their word.”

“To be fair, you only know one Lannister.” Margaery, thankfully, finally joined in. “I can’t say I entirely understand either, but Brienne’s not wrong. Jaime was going to find out eventually, it was better to get ahead of it.”

It wasn’t anything remotely close to what Brienne intended, but she let Margaery’s defense of her choice go unprotested. 

Sansa pressed her lips between her teeth and made a steeple of her hands in front of her face. Several deep breaths later, she said, “Does this have to do with what Margaery said about you and him? Have you been, what, seeing each other?”

“No,” Brienne said. “It wasn’t like that. Not… exactly.”

“Then tell me, because I’m trying really hard to figure out what you thought we’d gain from this and I’m coming up with nothing.” Sansa arrested her in place with a doubtful, wounded look. “I really want to believe you haven’t been lying to me this whole time.”

It hurt, Sansa’s distrust and uncertainty, and Brienne had to settle her riotous nerves before she could answer. Holding very still, she said, “We never… Jaime and I, we were heading toward something and I put a stop to it, for this, what we’re doing. I didn’t want to upend everything and I didn’t want to lie to him, either.”

She paused and Sansa gave her a slight nod to continue, her face pale.

“It never sat right with me and I found out recently that there was no way that he would approve of what Cersei was doing. I didn’t intend to tell him,” Brienne said plaintively. “I was only going to apologize for having hurt him, but as it went, it felt right. It felt _right,_ Sansa, for him to know who his sister really is.”

A few seconds passed, tortuous moments where Brienne hoped that her friend would try to work past her distress, but Sansa spun in place to face Margaery and demanded, “And you knew about this?”

Margaery spread her hands. “I knew there was a flirtation, I said as much. As for what Brienne decided yesterday, no.”

“You could have told me,” Sansa said back. “Either one of you could have said that Jaime was an issue when it came to Brienne.”

“What was there to say? He was ass over teakettle and Brienne didn’t believe it, she probably still doesn’t,” Margery replied and Brienne tried not to feel stung. 

Sansa turned back to Brienne, her voice slightly harder, “Is that why? Were you trying to get him back? Was this all so you could get some… some… pretty face to like you?”

That _definitely_ stung and Brienne loudly protested, “No!”

“Really, Brienne?” Sansa’s doubt was undeniable as she leaned forward. “You didn’t tell him in order to get back in his good graces, not even a _tiny_ bit?”

“That’s not-” Brienne hesitated and Sansa looked all the more disappointed. 

“Listen, it’s done.” Margaery smoothly stepped between them. “It can’t be undone, so let’s regroup. What can we do now?”

Sansa touched her forehead and flung her hand away. “I don’t know. Who’s to say what will even come next?”

“Good question.” Margaery moved closer to Brienne and asked, “Is there anything else you can tell us? Did he say anything that could give us an idea?”

Shaking her head, Brienne said, “Jaime said he needed some time, is all. It was just last night, but I imagine we would have heard something by now if he told her right away.”

“If he wasn’t lying about not knowing, you mean,” Sansa said.

“He wasn’t,” Brienne insisted again. “Sansa, please, you have to believe me.”

“I want to, I really do, Brienne, but I don’t understand this. I don’t understand it at all,” Sansa replied. “I don’t see why it had to be Jaime. I mean, what about Robb?”

Brienne closed her eyes and prayed to the Seven for patience. Unable to act as if she didn’t understand, she said, “Robb and I are friends and that’s all we’ll ever be.”

“But he really likes-”

“Sansa.” She said it firmly enough that the other girl stopped. “That’s all we’ll ever be.”

The room was quiet for a long time and when Sansa started pacing anew, Margaery reached out and squeezed Brienne’s shoulder then said, “We’ll get past this. We’ll be in wait-and-see-mode for a bit, but I don’t think it’s wrong to have faith in Brienne, or even to have a little faith in Jaime.”

Brienne gave her a thankful look and then turned her face down when Margaery asked, “Did he say anything else aside from wanting time?”

“No,” Brienne said in a low voice, and hoped Margaery wouldn’t see it for the lie it was. 


	37. Day 197

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: brief discussion of seniority and bullying.

Day 197

Three days was not enough.

The realization became clear the moment Jaime set his eyes on the Kappa house. He thought he’d been in a calm enough state to reach out to Cersei the day before, but she’d ignored his call and then written the highly informative text of _busy, ta_. Another day and he’d miss her altogether, with everyone spilling free for a generous two week break. 

It would have been better if she’d answered before he finally broke his silence and spoke to Bronn and Addam about it, two more people he was now feeling less than pleased with. 

_It’s insane, right?_ He’d asked it of Bronn first, who simply shrugged and said it wouldn’t surprise him. It had stunned Jaime into silence and Bronn had laughed at first, then sobered at seeing the look on his face. 

“You hear things,” his friend admitted. 

“No, _you_ hear things,” Jaime retorted. “What else is there?”

Ten minutes later, Jaime wished he’d never asked. 

Twenty minutes later, he was yelling at Addam, who had said more of the same.

“What the _fuck_ is going on? Why is no one telling me this?” Jaime nearly roared it and Addam had taken on a placating look and then dragged him into a room where their brothers were less likely to eavesdrop. 

“Honestly, I didn’t see what it had to do with us,” Addam said in a pacifying tone that made Jaime want to throttle him. “I figured if you cared, you’d have said something.”

It did nothing to stop Jaime from seeing red. “How could I say something when I don’t have a fucking clue what is going on?” 

“You decided to go with the Thorns this year instead of Kappa.” Addam shrugged uncomfortably and cleared his throat. “I thought that was your way of keeping your distance.”

Jaime clenched his hands on the top of his head, walking to and fro in the room as he willed himself to calm down. Taking it as encouragement, Addam said, “We’ve all done it, been hazed, hazed the younger guys. It’s what we do. It’s what they do.”

“Not like this.” He fervently shook his head. “Not this, not my sister.”

“So she keeps them up late, embarrasses them a little, it’s meant to bond every-”

Jaime let out a loud, bitter laugh. “Making freshmen run almost naked through the woods in the middle of the night is supposed to help them grow as a person? Or how about taking nudes of them and spreading them as punishment?”

Addam went white and silent. 

“Yeah, that’s real sisterly shit,” Jaime said scathingly.

“Jaime, no, that’s not what I-”

“You may not have heard of that, but you heard enough.” He jabbed a finger in Addam’s direction. “You should have told me.”

So that made it two people he wasn’t speaking to at the moment. 

Three, actually.

In retrospect, he felt less like shooting the messenger when it came to Brienne, but all of it was too twisted up in the other things she’d said, about the choices she made, about Robb, about what she felt and the fact that there was a _godsdamned alliance_ of people who wanted to see Cersei pay for what she’d done. 

It was a wonder he’d been able to complete his midterms, but he’d managed it. If there was anything he was still angry at Brienne about, was that she had shit timing. 

There was still a tiny tendril of hope inside him - that though Brienne had said it so earnestly, or that Bronn and Addam had tangentially confirmed it - that they were all wrong. Maybe Cersei hadn’t done the whole host of things she was accused of, perhaps it was all hearsay and bitter rumors from girls who hadn’t made the cut into Kappa. The coalition, instead, was a bunch of jealous, self-righteous assholes that saw fit to take down someone who didn’t play by their stringent rules.

He had to give Cersei that chance. She had the right to defend herself, he could give her that. 

Calmer, barely, Jaime knocked on the Kappa front door and walked in before anyone could answer. They’d seen him often enough that no one should blink twice that he was visiting his sister, but in the foyer on the other side was Sansa, who looked overly surprised by his arrival and speedily asked, “Can I help you?”

Jaime barely acknowledged her and continued on, taking the steps two at a time. Sansa bounced up after him, calling out, “I can get her for you, if you want, you don’t need to go-”

“I know the way,” Jaime said back over his shoulder and left her far behind. 

She said something else, but Jaime had already made it to Cersei’s room, tapped once on the door and gone in before she could answer. 

Cersei frowned at the interruption and she rolled her eyes when she saw it was him. “Gods, I was going to call you before I left. I’m a little caught up here.”

He could see it; there was luggage on her bed and Cersei was methodically unpacking it, checking each item and setting it aside in order to reach for another. She muttered, “They never get it right,” and turned with a scowl when she heard the door close and Jaime moved nearer. “I told you, I’m busy.”

“Spare a moment for your favorite twin brother,” Jaime said with a tight smile.

“Favorite brother, full stop,” Cersei replied. She tossed a bag of toiletries off to the side and sat on the edge of the bed. “What?”

Now that he had her attention, Jaime didn’t know where to begin. He turned away from her and perused her desk, fiddling with loose sheets of paper and detritus. It looked like her study notes had self-combusted and there were textbooks and pens and highlighters everywhere, most missing their caps. “Fuck’s sake, Cersei, you aren’t ever this messy at home,” he observed. 

“The help here is less dependable than we have in Casterly,” Cersei said archly. “I’ll have it taken care of later.”

Jaime looked at her from the corner of his eye and kept stalling out of lack of direction. There was a corkboard with photos on the wall and Cersei was center stage of each, the girls around her ever changing. Sansa, her self-appointed guard of the day, looked especially worshipful in one and Jaime snorted. 

“Is there a point to this? Am I supposed to be noticing something? It’s not a haircut - and I hope you’re not growing it out, people are going to start mixing us up again if you do,” Cersei said. 

“I’d have to borrow your straightener to pull that off,” Jaime replied and Cersei smirked at him. Pivoting from the desk, Jaime crossed his arms and leaned back to say, “I heard something weird the other day.”

“Oooh,” Cersei said with an especially mocking note in her voice. “And my day must stop in order to hear it? Do tell.”

It made him chuckle, just a little, but remembering the purpose of his visit made it fade almost immediately. 

“Cersei.” And he stopped. 

“Jaime,” she teased, mimicking his serious start. 

“Look, I don’t want to tell you how to run your house, and I don’t even know what I’m hearing is true,” Jaime said uncomfortably. “But I’ve been hearing some things about stuff that goes on in Kappa.”

Cersei’s face shuttered from one second to the next and in that second Jaime felt a pit form in his chest. 

“You’re right,” she started and didn’t give Jaime a moment to speak before adding, “it’s none of your business how I run my house.”

“Cers-”

“Let me guess… I rent out Kappa as a bordello? I make all the pledges moonlight as call girls?” Cersei affected a fake gasp. “Am I a madam? Gosh, our father would applaud my entrepreneurial spirit, don’t you think?”

“That isn’t-”

“Please, the things people come up with because they weren’t smart enough or pretty enough to take up residence here, it’s absurd. It’s sour grapes, Jaime, that’s all.” 

Jaime stared at her, his mind stuttering over her grandiose defense and her dismissive hand wave as she turned back to unpacking her bag. Part of him wanted to believe her, but something bigger inside of him twigged on how quickly she’d spouted off deranged accusations, things that would make washing machines and clean-up-on-call stories sound small in comparison. 

She sounded like their dad. 

Their old dad, at least.

He had a feeling the new Tywin wouldn’t be so pleased that _that_ particular tool of the boardroom had been reappropriated into a whole new environment. Or that Cersei wielded it so efficiently. 

It made him stop and reorient, to take a breath, decide to to forge ahead and say, “It’s nothing as out there as that,” - _most of it_ , he thought despairingly - “I’m talking about sleep deprivation, something with the woods in the middle of the night-”

“Moonlit walks are a crime now?” She rolled her eyes even harder, but he knew her well enough to see the metaphorical hackles rising. 

“-something about washing machines and girls drinking so much they’re getting sick-”

Cersei sighed roughly. “Gods, Jaime, I don’t have time for this-”

“Then make time!” Jaime burst out and Cersei startled back. They stood at loggerheads and Jaime couldn’t stop himself. “Is it true?”

“Which part?” Cersei asked, displeasure written all over her face.

“Fuck’s sake-” Jaime bit off and turned slightly away from her. “Any one of them alone is an issue.”

“Not your issue,” Cersei insisted. “Seeing as Sigma’s not even our brother frat.”

“No, I’m _your_ brother,” Jaime shot back and he had a brief moment where he wanted to kill Robb Stark for an entirely new reason, because didn’t _that_ just fit in so nicely? Of course Robb would be part of any and all judgy moral brigades. Shoving the thought away, Jaime said, “None of it is okay, Cers.”

“Because you’re all high and mighty,” Cersei said sharply. “Like you’ve never done it to anyone else.”

“Not like that! I don’t almost have to send people to the hospital!” Jaime thrust his hand up in the air. “Do you not remember how this happened? How the fuck could I be okay with anyone else pulling those kinds of stunts, even if it’s you?”

Cersei looked at his hand and then slid her eyes back to his, her entire bearing gone cool. “I don’t see how what happened to you has anything to do with this.”

Horrified, Jaime said, “I stood up to someone and he crushed my godsdamn hand. Are you really pretending not to know how this shit can go way too far?”

“What I see,” Cersei said angrily, “is that my idiot brother couldn’t follow godsdamn orders and if he had, he wouldn’t have had to take a an entire year off from school and leave me here to figure out how to do it all on my own.”

Jaime dropped his hand down, gutted by Cersei’s glare and the acidity in her every word. 

Voice hoarse, he asked, “So it’s my fault then, that you do these things? That’s your play?”

“No, my play,” Cersei said sarcastically, “is to ask you to leave and to stay out of my business. I don’t give my opinions regarding Sigma and you can keep what you think to yourself.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Jaime replied slowly, still recovering from her brutal strike. “You can’t do these things.”

“I don’t recall admitting to anything,” Cersei haughtily pointed out. 

“So prove me wrong. Tell me it’s all a lie, that none of it is real, that you haven’t put the girls in this house through a shitstorm in order to get your approval.” Jaime heard the desperate edge come to his voice. “Tell me that I still know you.”

It seemed to finally get through, only barely, and Cersei looked away from him. 

“Please, Cersei,” Jaime begged. 

“It’s hazing,” she finally said, shrugging a single shoulder. “Everybody does it. I don’t see the big deal.”

It was the closest thing to an admission that he’d ever get, Jaime knew, and it was enough to shake him to his core. He couldn’t pull his gaze from his sister, the stranger before him and he wondered how long it had been since he’d really seen the girl he’d loved and protected since they were children. 

“Can you go now?” Cersei pretended at courtesy and he saw through that, too. “I have to repack and head out soon.”

He swallowed hard, set his chin and said, “It’s not just hazing if the end result is that the girls here are terrified of you, Cersei.”

Her entire demeanor went cold again. “Funny how it’s fear with women and respect with men.”

“I don’t browbeat or manipulate my guys into respecting me,” Jaime said back, as carefully as possible. “I don’t endanger them for a good time.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Cersei said, her eyes narrowed. “Now.”

He almost did. Jaime went to the door, still thrown, still staggered by all the things his sister did and didn’t say. But he took his hand off the doorknob, and still facing the wall, asked, “What happened with Taena?”

There was no response from behind him.

Jaime turned around again and Cersei quickly angled her face away when he tried to catch her eye. “Taena was your favorite this year and then those photos came out and she was gone and Robert was gone and, godsdamnit to all hells, Cersei, how much of that had to do with you?”

“Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about that,” Cersei muttered.

“I’m asking you. I’m here, Cersei, and I’m asking you. Don’t lie to me.”

She shrugged again, far less confidently. “They were tracked to Robert’s phone, everyone knows that.”

“What is the truth?” Jaime pressed on. “That’s all I’m asking.”

“The truth.” She made a noise, something like a laugh, but low and exasperated. “The truth is that Robert had an easily hacked phone and someone took advantage. You know that’s not my area of expertise.”

Shaking his head, Jaime said, “No, but you do know where to point people, how to get them to do what you want.”

“You asked for the truth and that’s it,” Cersei replied. 

“We both know that’s not the whole truth.”

Cersei shook back her hair. “That’s all you’re getting. It’s time for you to go, Jaime.”

“You ruined that girl’s life,” Jaime said softly, too stricken to speak louder.

“A faceless person on the internet ruined that girl’s life,” Cersei snapped. 

“They’re hardly faceless if you know exactly who it is.”

“And I don’t recall saying that I do.”

Silence fell between them and Jaime looked down. He willed his feet to move, to leave, but he had to ask it. “Is that all you have to say? Are you even sorry?”

“She crossed me,” Cersei said back just as quietly, with far more fury. “I’d like to see someone else try.”

But when Jaime looked up at her, he saw it before Cersei could hide it. A brief, fleeting moment where he saw her doubt - maybe, he hoped, regret - and then it was hidden behind the carefully constructed mask that he now knew had been there for a very long time.

He turned away without another word, afraid of what would come out of his mouth next and Cersei added nothing else. When he closed the door behind him, he stayed frozen on the landing, his hand still on the doorknob, as if a small part of him wanted to go back in. To yell or plead, he didn’t know. 

There was a movement in his periphery and Jaime automatically followed it, taking in long red hair, hands clenched into fists and a mask that wasn’t nearly as polished as the one he’d just discovered.

 _Oh,_ he thought to himself. _You._


	38. Day 200

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NaomiGnome gifted us with a follow up slideshow! [Go here first and then come back this way, I can wait.](https://naomignome.tumblr.com/post/634216206894825472/im-back-on-my-bs) All the hearts and hugs to her, she has been a huge factor in keeping me enthusiastic and focused on this story even while it's spiraled out of control and I just want to lay down instead XD
> 
> Chapter warnings in end notes. Which is kind of a bummer to say after I just fawned all over NaomiGnome, but that's why I'm putting them in the end notes.

Day 200

After another sleepless night - and a phone that remained steadfastly silent - Brienne rose early to take a run through a campus that had become a ghost town. 

It wasn’t her usual thing, but it was better than running on a treadmill and the athletic complex wouldn’t open for ages yet, their hours impacted by the fact that most students had left for the break. She could have been among them, as Robb had generously extended his offer again, but Brienne felt it wrong to accept so soon after disappointing him. Of all the matters she had yet to wrap her mind around, Robb’s feelings for her ranked rather low, but she suspected spending a great deal of time with him wouldn’t be wise. Margaery had agreed. 

Sansa offered no opinions. Sansa wasn’t saying much of anything these days. 

Slowing to a walk, Brienne watched her breath puff out in little clouds that quickly dissipated in the dim morning light. She would have liked to call it a mistake, but it was no such thing when she decided to make the turn onto Frat Row instead of walking the extra block to her own street. 

She suffered no illusions. Brienne knew she’d blown it. Now she had a couple weeks of guaranteed distance from Jaime, too, which would hopefully start to lay the groundwork of getting over him completely. Sansa might have been skeptical, she might have even been right that Brienne had hoped maybe Jaime could like her again, but the way they’d parted had battered the last nail in that coffin. 

_If -_ if _\- this is true,_ Jaime had asked, after he’d looked in turns confused, lost, and then downright furious, _why am I barely hearing anything about it? Why didn’t you tell me before?_

Brienne couldn’t answer the first question and she hesitated to answer the second. The expression on his face when she admitted that she hadn’t known how much he knew, how much he let pass because of who Cersei was to him - she thought she’d reached the absolute depths of her regret, only to discover a whole new level.

Jaime had jerked his face away, stared into the distance for what seemed like an incalculable expanse of time, then nodded to himself as if deciding very firmly on something. He’d ripped a paper out of the back of his notebook and scribbled on it, shoving it into Brienne’s fist once he’d packed away all his things.

 _That’s who I am_ , he told her, in a voice she’d never heard out of his mouth, hard and angry and hurt, all at once. Then he said he needed time to consider what to do, almost as an afterthought; it was what she passed on to Margaery and Sansa, though she’d kept the contents of the ripped paper to herself, as well as what she’d discovered that same morning, when she followed its instructions.

Maybe now that she knew, Jaime would reach out to her and they could speak again, maybe not as friends, but as two people who finally understood one another. Maybe he meant it as one last jab of _see how you did this all wrong?_ and he’d never talk to her again. Maybe it was all useless to think about, because no matter her best intentions, Brienne had damaged two relationships in trying to do the right thing at the wrong time.

Maybe she was just imagining things and that _wasn’t_ Jaime coming up from the other end of the block, his jog easing into a walk when he saw her, too.

Brienne’s feet planted themselves on the hard concrete, disobeying her silent plea to keep going. Her right hand fluttered up, almost in a wave, then collapsed back down at her side when Jaime came nearer, his expression bland. 

She wondered if he would pass without a greeting, or would only bestow a curt nod as he had for the last several weeks, but when he was only a few feet away, Jaime stopped as well.

“Good morning,” Brienne said, far more faintly than she meant to.

“Hey,” Jaime replied. Tinny music filled the air when he pulled a pair of earbuds out of place, the air between them going thick with silence when he shut off the source. 

Throughout the last few months, Brienne had missed him more than she could bear to say, a feeling that she’d tried to smother down and ignore. Even so, in those few moments, where Jaime was closest, he had never seemed so far away. 

“You, uh, you’re here.” Jaime used his shirtsleeve to wipe sweat from his forehead and trained his eyes somewhere past her shoulder. “Thought most everyone was gone.”

Brienne tried swallowing to soothe her suddenly parched throat. “Yeah, I had some plans fall through. You?”

“Same,” Jaime replied. He was still breathing quickly from his run and Brienne watched the mist from his mouth diffuse into the air. She wondered what they looked like, both of them stilted and brutally polite, and was glad for the empty street and quiet houses. 

It used to be so easy between them, which was stunning to realize, considering all the things she’d kept hidden during that time. Despite all the things unsaid, they’d managed to coax something out of each other, something Brienne had stomped all over like an aurochs in a glass garden. Shutting her eyes to not show how much it pained her, Brienne started to say, “I’ll get out of your way, have a goo-”

“You thirsty?” Jaime asked suddenly and Brienne went quiet. He took it as confirmation, because he motioned with his head to the Sigma house across and down the street. “Come on.”

She followed after him, unsure and scrambling to recover, up the stairs, through the front door and a deserted living room, back to the kitchen and then she was on their back porch with a large cup of iced water in her hand, stymied in trying to figure out how she’d gotten there.

Jaime stood next to her, leaning back against the railing and Brienne wordlessly mimicked him. 

When he finally spoke again, Jaime didn’t look over at her, but he did cut straight to the point. “I talked to my sister.”

She’d heard it from Margaery, who had heard it from Sansa, and seeing as Sansa hadn’t been immediately banished from Cersei’s trip to Dorne, they’d taken it as tentatively good news that Jaime hadn’t given everything away. Brienne nodded and took a sip. “I know.”

“Yeah, I guess you do,” Jaime said ruefully. 

“Are you all right?” She asked it carefully, recalling Jaime’s thunderstruck expression when she’d gotten into the worst of it. _Why_ had she waited? Why hadn’t she trusted herself, trusted him, back then?

“No.” A simple word, rife with disappointment and unhappiness. “Turns out Bronn and Addam knew some of it. Not all of it, but enough.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Decided to skip out on our road trip, so here I am.” Jaime’s shoulder brushed hers when he shrugged restlessly. “What’s your excuse?”

“Dad’s busy,” Brienne replied. “I didn’t want to waste money on the trip if we’d hardly get to see each other.”

“Makes sense.”

They both drank again, the sound of clinking ice abnormally loud. 

Brienne glanced around the porch. A few steps away was where she’d stood when Jaime had said things, kind and flirty things that confused her, where she’d felt drawn to him despite her best efforts. It was still there, stronger even, and it seemed impossible, the thought of getting another chance. There was little she could say now, but there was one important thing she could address. 

“I found it,” she said softly. “The day after we spoke, I did what you asked.”

Jaime didn’t reply.

“Dean Tyrell almost didn’t let me look, but then I showed her your note,” Brienne continued. “So…”

“So now you know,” Jaime finished for her. 

“Yeah.” 

It had been both a revelation and not at all - it was more like missing pieces slotting into place: Jaime’s hand, the rumors about Targ Alpha, the way he’d looked all the more contemptuous when she told him about the things Cersei did to her pledges. He’d been on the other side of it once and out of everyone who could have spoken up, it was only Jaime’s witness statement filed away in a locked cabinet in Dean Tyrell’s office.

Jaime raised his hand, turning it palm up and then down; it was streaked with scars and the thought of how much it must have hurt made Brienne’s stomach twist. 

“She called when I was still in the hospital. If anyone asked, if they knew it was me, I could have said it was because I was still under anesthesia and that’s why I told her. But that wasn’t it.” He made a fist, as if to test himself, his fingers going pale with how tightly he held it before releasing. “I couldn’t stand to see anything else happen.”

Brienne chewed on her lower lip to keep from interrupting. 

“The night before, I drank so much that I passed out. Most of us did, but we were just really hungover the next day. Except one guy. Turns out they ditched him at the emergency room to get his stomach pumped. Just opened the backdoor of the car and left him on the curb.” Jaime’s breath was noisy as he took air in between his teeth. “I heard of it when Aerys took us outside to the bonfire and said there was only one way we could prove our loyalty to him.”

It was horribly easy to imagine, a crowd of young men, boys really, still sick to their stomachs and terrified when Aerys brought out from the fire a brand stylized with the Targ Alpha symbols. Fantastical as it sounded, Dean Tyrell had it documented that the brand had been found in Aerys’ belongings, that there were a few older brothers who unenthusiastically revealed the ill-healed scars on their biceps when asked. Still, none had said a word, not until Jaime. 

“I said no and then I said no again and then he…” Jaime trailed off and spread his fingers and let it fall. “It was the beginning of the end for him, but it should never have taken that much for it to happen.”

Brienne held herself very still, summoning the courage to ask what had cycled through her mind ever since she’d read the testimony Jaime had signed his name to. “Why didn’t you say something? Tell anyone?”

“I wasn’t here. I was at home, having one surgery and then another, then having really painful therapy to regain motion and I didn’t want to think about it any more than I had to,” Jaime said plainly. “Aerys got expelled and arrested, though his family kept that pretty quiet. I could have gone to another school once I was better, but it felt too much like letting him win.”

No, she supposed, Jaime wouldn’t have been content with that. 

“I kept away from Alpha and they kept away from me. Their house could have survived it if Rhaegar was capable of thinking with his head instead of his dick, but that was the death blow and after that I didn’t have to concern myself with them anymore. I thought that was the last of it. I never thought that-”

He paused and Brienne clenched her hands around her cup to keep from reaching out with a sympathetic touch. 

“She doesn’t even care,” Jaime said hollowly. “Or she’s pretending not to care, which might be worse. That she knows it's wrong and she does it anyway.”

The notion of it was absolutely foreign to her. “I’m so sorry, Jaime.”

“I know you are.” He took another drink. “I just wish things were different.”

She knew how that felt. Too well.

“I still don’t know what to do, I think I still need time,” Jaime told her and Brienne nodded. “Are you… or I guess your people, do they have anything to say about that?”

“It’s very… touchy right now,” Brienne said cautiously. “No one’s very happy with me at the moment.”

Jaime gave her a confused look and it spurred her to another likely-premature confession, but to try to hide anything now wouldn’t change what was already done.

“I only meant to tell you about Cersei, not everything else,” Brienne explained. “And the main person is upset with me for not at least warning them that I would tell you as much. I suppose I knew if I told them before, they might have had a chance of talking me out of it.”

“Ah,” Jaime said. “Robb?”

Brienne twisted to look at him with surprise. 

Jaime gave her a vague half-smile. “Easy deduction. What morally upright person came into the picture right about the time you shuffled me out?”

“Jaime…”

“I’m guessing Sansa must be part of it” - another jolt of shock rushed through her at hearing it - “she kind of gave herself away when I went to go see Cersei. And once I got there, it made sense that Margaery must be involved, I can’t imagine any secrets she doesn’t know. The only person I’m not sure about is Dacey.”

Brienne had to close her mouth before a bug could fly in, she was so stupefied. 

It took a moment to gather her thoughts and she stuttered out, “No, not Dacey. I mean, she knows things, but she’s not _in it_ -in it.”

“She’s not the subterfuge type,” Jaime said.

“No,” Brienne agreed, still reeling. 

Jaime seemed to take it as permission to show off, because he said, “Let me see if I’ve got this right: my sister puts Sansa through the paces and she goes running to her brother, who manages to _not_ make a damn fool of himself by throwing around accusations without proof. Somehow they decided to loop Margaery in and you… I don’t know where you fit in, actually. I wouldn’t have pegged you for subterfuge, either.”

Brienne looked down at her rapidly emptying glass, shut her eyes and opened them to say, “It wasn’t Robb.”

“Oh?” She didn’t look at him, but his surprise was obvious.

“I’ve… I’ve known Sansa since we were kids. We were matched up in primary school in a pen pal program and… she’s been a friend since then. My best friend. She has been for a long time.”

Jaime let out a low whistle in response.

“I joined the Thorns because we wanted to see if it was only a Kappa thing or if it was throughout the houses-”

“Holy shit,” Jaime’s laugh was almost giddy, “that’s me corrected. Brienne Tarth the spy.”

“Not much of one,” Brienne mumbled. “No spy worth their weight goes straight to the unknown factor and tells him everything.”

Jaime’s laugh faded and he moved to face her; Brienne kept her back to the porch rail, unsure of what she would see if she looked in return. 

“Now she’s angry with me and she has a right to be. I could have ruined everything,” Brienne admitted. She sighed heavily. “And here I am, telling you even more.”

“I don’t know what it’s worth, but I’m glad you did,” Jaime said. “Out of all the people who could have - who should have - you’re the only one… I’m glad you did, even if I didn’t want to hear it.”

“What are you going to do?” As she asked it, Brienne pondered at the numerous ways Jaime could possibly interpret it, the endless paths he could take in answering. 

He shook his head, his still damp hair barely moving. “Gods, I don’t know. Cersei and I got into it pretty bad, but I’d bet every cent of my trust that next time I see her, she’ll act like nothing happened. It’s her go to move.”

“I’m sorry,” Brienne said again.

“I know,” Jaime repeated. 

She risked a glance at him just as Jaime turned completely to set his elbows on the railing to look out on the backyard. “So, uh,” he started, hesitant all over again, “the Robb thing was just for show then?”

“It was” - Brienne swallowed hard - “for me.”

Jaime tilted his head to look back at her and Brienne looked away.

“Short version, he asked and I said no,” Brienne finally said after Jaime let the hushed morning ask the question for him.

“You turned down Robb Stark,” Jaime said, his tone bloodless. 

Brienne nodded. 

He didn’t say anything else at first, aside from releasing the tiniest huff of a laugh as he took another sip of water, the sound of it echoing off the bottom of the cup. Then he stood up straight and faced her again. “Now why would you turn down Robb Stark? I thought any girl who would turn him down had as much a chance of existing as a dragon of the old stories.”

“I exist,” Brienne said mulishly.

“That you do,” Jaime said with an almost condescending nod. But he sobered, serious once more and it made Brienne’s chest tighten. “So why did you?”

She wondered if he knew how cruel the question was when the answer was so obvious. Then again, she didn’t have much of a leg to stand on when it came to hurting another, to hurting him. 

The sad truth of it made Brienne gather up her courage to look him in the eye and say, “You know why.”

Averting her gaze before his surprise could shift into pity, Brienne reached out and dumped the last cubes of ice into the grass on the other side of the railing and said, “I should head out.”

Jaime nodded without a word and took the cup from her, stacking it with his own. He moved first, walking to the back door and Brienne fixed her eyes on a spot in the center of his back; his t-shirt clung to his shoulder blades, but the fabric had lifted from that one patch in the middle and she wanted to press her forehead there, to grasp his arms in her palms and ask… just ask…

Brienne dropped her head down, her throat gone dry and raspy, her eyes burning with renewed loss. 

She missed it then, when Jaime turned at the door, the step up leaving him ever so slightly taller than her for once. She didn’t see it, but she heard the plastic clatter onto the ground, she felt it when his hand went to her chin, both hands, scarred and not, on each side of her jaw and then her face angled up and Jaime’s mouth was on hers. 

It was still a mystery even as Brienne breathed him in; as she blindly lifted her own hands to hold the back of his head, to hold him closer and for as long as possible, a small part of her still suspected that this was one last kiss goodbye. It was as good as before, and better, and so much worse. 

Her eyes remained clenched shut when Jaime pulled back, but he didn’t let her go. He remained quiet until Brienne could stand it no longer and opened her eyes to stare at him. He stared back, a storm of unspoken things written all over his face. 

Brienne broke first, she had to or they would stay there the entire day and into the night. She could see he was waiting. After a small, shuddering breath, she said, “I didn’t tell you so that you would like me again.”

Jaime grazed his thumbs over her cheeks and said, “I never stopped.”

The relief that washed over her made her eyes sting all over again and Brienne curled her fingers in his hair. “Are you sure? You were so angry.”

“I can be mad at you and still like you a lot,” Jaime said, quietly amused. “Look at me, I’m doing it right now.”

“What about-”

“Let’s just- do you still want this?” Jaime implored. 

“Yes,” Brienne said honestly, still striving to catch her breath.

“I do, too,” he said, sounding just as heartfelt. He kissed her once more and Brienne never wanted to move, not ever again. It was Jaime who had to break away, but he was finally smiling. “So let’s start there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for: Discussion of seniority, bullying and assault.


	39. Day 202

Day 202

For the second time that night, Brienne gave Dacey pause.

She stopped just shy of the shaft of light from the crack of the bedroom door, hesitating when she heard a soft sniffle from within. Not fifteen minutes earlier, Dacey had looked up from where she’d huddled over her senior project notes to watch Brienne walk into the house with a far away look on her face, her shoes dangling from hooked fingers. Dacey had gone unnoticed - thankfully, she didn’t want to explain why she’d been ignoring her notes to instead scroll through instagram - but she’d seen Brienne’s soft smile and assumed that wherever she’d been for the evening, it had been a pleasant one. 

Now, not very long after, Brienne’s mood had altered completely and, though she’d been ready to fall headfirst into bed, Dacey took a fortifying breath and knocked on the door. 

“Brienne? Everything all right?”

There was a fumbling on the other side and when the door was pulled all the way open, she could see the signs of distress that Brienne had tried to hide. 

“You okay?” Dacey asked again, taking in Brienne’s red-rimmed eyes. However she’d tried to wipe tear tracks from her face, she hadn’t been wholly successful. 

Brienne glanced away. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Dacey let it pass for the moment and said, “I was wondering about you. Your name was on the break list but I hadn’t seen you since I got back.”

“No, I’ve been here. Around.” Brienne cleared her throat and tried at a casual pose. It struck Dacey for likely the thousandth time that it was a wonder she ever thought Brienne was a risky bid to take on; she was a terrible liar and her attempts at deviousness only made her more awkward. Weeks into knowing each other, Dacey had become certain that if Brienne was hiding something, that it was probably fairly benign.

She wished she’d been wrong about that part. 

“How was your visit with your sisters?” Brienne asked, attempting distraction. Poorly.

Dacey allowed it. “Same as ever. We sat around and gave each other pedicures, watched some hockey. I nodded along when they told me yet again that their commanding officers don’t hold a candle to our mom. Don’t quote me on it, but I might have used my senior project as an excuse to bail early, before it got too annoying.”

Her expression turning wistful, Brienne said, “I never had sisters. I can’t imagine getting tired of them if I did.”

“Well, you have us, I bet we get on your nerves from time to time,” Dacey suggested.

“No, not really,” Brienne said quietly.

Dacey gave her a long, level look. “No, I guess not.” She waited a beat. “Can I come in?”

Brienne moved back and made a small gesture toward the wooden desk chair, but Dacey silently shook her head. She asked it again, “Are you sure you’re alright? You seem upset and you weren’t when you came in.”

“You saw me?” 

“You looked a little…” _head in the clouds, smiling like a goof,_ “preoccupied. In a good way. Now, not so much.”

Brienne looked down and picked at her fingernails. “I didn’t see you.”

“Like I said, preoccupied.” Dacey stuck her hands in her back pockets. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but I wanted to check on you.”

Several moments passed and she could see Brienne weighing it all out. At last, she asked, “Did Margaery tell you what happened?”

It wasn’t what Dacey anticipated, but she nodded. “Only that you told Jaime what was going on and so far Cersei hasn’t rained hellfire down on us, so we might be okay for now?”

“That’s the simple version,” Brienne murmured. 

“Did something change? Did Cersei do-”

“No, that’s not- Jaime hasn’t told her about any of us.” It came out quickly and Brienne’s face brightened with sincerity. “He won’t.”

“You sound sure.”

“I am sure,” Brienne said firmly. There was a brief hesitation and she could see the moment where Brienne decided to be forthcoming. “That’s where I’ve been the last couple of days. Who I’ve been with. Jaime, that is. We’ve been spending time together.”

Dacey’s head flinched back a little, barely masking her significant shock. “You and Jaime?”

Brienne gave one solid nod. “Yes.”

“Oh. I see.” Dacey wandered over to Brienne’s desk and sat heavily in the chair. “And here I thought you were upset about the photos on Robb’s feed.”

Looking puzzled, Brienne sat on the bed across from her. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, he’s…” _Being Robb_ , but that would take way too much explanation. Dacey wished most days she could wash her hands of him completely. Regardless, she was relieved to not have to comfort Brienne upon seeing Robb’s posts and flirty comments with Theon’s sister; it was as long-lasting as it was harmless, but she’d erroneously guessed that was what left Brienne in tears. Apparently not. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Okay,” Brienne said slowly.

“But you can talk to me, okay? Anytime,” Dacey assured her. 

Brienne gave her a wan smile and Dacey rose halfway from the chair, giving it up for Margaery to follow up on when Brienne quietly said, “It’s Sansa. She’s-”

Dacey settled back down and looked to where Brienne turned her attention toward the bed. Following her line of sight, Dacey saw where her phone must have landed after whatever communication she’d gotten from Sansa.

“She’s not very happy with me right now,” Brienne admitted. “I told her that Jaime promised he’d keep what I told him between us, but she doesn’t… I don’t think she trusts me anymore.” She bit her lip and her eyes went shiny. “I’ve alwa- always been able to talk to her and right now it’s like we just can’t. I don’t know what to do about that.”

There was a small hand towel in the shower caddy next to the desk and Dacey handed it over, waiting until Brienne rubbed at her face to say, “I imagine she just needs time and space. It’s been pretty stressful for her, for a long time.”

It was an understatement, but there was no sense in beating Brienne over the head with it. Dacey had her own regrets that someone she’d been fond of as they’d grown up had been through so many harrowing things, but Sansa had never felt as if she could come to Dacey for assistance. In trying to keep from getting too entangled with one Stark, she’d unintentionally alienated the other. 

“I know,” Brienne said miserably. “I just made it worse, though. I told her about me and Jaime, and all it did was reinforce her idea that I risked everything for a boy, like I’m an idiot or something.”

Dacey smothered a dry laugh and gently said, “We’ve all been stupid over a boy or two, it happens. Trust me, it’s practically a rite of passage around here, unless you’re Margaery. She’s not stupid over anyone.”

“But that’s not what I did it for!” Brienne’s face flushed, matching her obvious frustration. “All this, with Jaime, I never thought I’d get another chance with him, I was just trying to do the right thing, that’s all. How does the fact that he and I, that we-”

She broke off and smashed her face into the towel, this time groaning into it. 

“It was an… unintentional result. But a happy one,” Dacey surmised.

Brienne dropped her hands down between her knees and nodded. 

“She’ll see that. Eventually. Right now it’s too fresh and she’s too scared, but Sansa will get past this and you’ll be able to talk again,” Dacey said as encouragingly as possible. “You’ve been friends too long for this to come between you permanently.”

“I hope so,” Brienne whispered. 

Dacey wanted to promise that it would be soon, but there was really no telling. Sansa - and really, her whole family - usually needed time to adapt to changes and disappointments. That in mind, Dacey inadvertently let out a loud sigh. At Brienne’s questioning glance, she admitted, “Sorry, I was just thinking of how Robb will react when he hears about you and Jaime.”

And then Brienne _completely_ stunned her with, “Oh, well, Robb knows. He’s fine with it, I suppose.”

Dacey stared blankly at her.

“Well, he doesn’t know what’s happened in the last couple of days,” Brienne went on, ignorant of the way Dacey’s brain was rebooting, “but he has a good idea of how I feel about Jaime, so he shouldn’t be too surprised.”

Dacey closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, took stock of where she was sitting and then opened them again to see that nothing had changed - there was Brienne, her bed, the phone and…

“What?” Dacey asked, absolutely baffled. 

Brienne looked worried. “Robb said we could still be friends. You don’t think he was lying, do you?”

“Robb knows,” Dacey said flatly, “that you like Jaime.”

“Yes,” Brienne answered, drawing out the word in her confusion. 

She couldn’t hide her shocked laugh. “Wow, I really thought he was about to ask you out. Robb, I mean.”

“Well… he did,” Brienne said, almost apologetically. Then she _actually_ apologized. “I’m sorry, I know he’s your friend, but it’s like I told him, I just didn’t feel the same way-”

Dacey needed a moment and Brienne had to have seen it because she stopped short, watching with trepidation as Dacey leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her forehead on her fists and then… then she started to laugh.

“Dacey?” Brienne said it so quietly and carefully that Dacey laughed even harder. 

“You- and he-” Dacey struggled to breathe, taking in a gasp of air between hoots of laughter, “Robb asked- and you! Oh good gods, his face must have-”

Somewhere beyond her, Brienne hesitantly said, “I… yes, but… Dacey, you don’t think it was a joke, do you?”

Her deeply worried tone made Dacey’s laughter jolt to a stop and she whipped her head up. “No! No, not at all, that’s not Robb, he would never!”

“Oh,” Brienne replied, looking relieved, then embarrassed all over again. “But… why?”

Dacey stood from the chair to put her hands on Brienne’s forearms, waiting until Brienne met her eyes to say, “Because Robb asked you out and you said no. I didn’t think there was a girl on this entire campus that was capable of that.”

Brienne’s brow furrowed. “But I don’t like him like that.”

“Which makes you even more extraordinary than I ever thought,” Dacey insisted. She tugged on Brienne’s arm to make her stand. “Come on, I need to celebrate this.”

She turned, fully expecting Brienne to follow, though there was an air of pure confusion around her. They went downstairs, Dacey leading her to the kitchen, and Brienne maintained her bewildered silence as Dacey dug into the freezer for a pint of ice cream and then a drawer to rustle up a couple of spoons. 

They were sharing the corner of a table in the large breakfast nook when Brienne finally said, “I didn’t think you’d be happy for Robb to be disappointed by anybody.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not happy that he’s unhappy,” Dacey said, then paused and pinched the fingers of her free hand for Brienne to see. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Brienne cocked her head and squinted at her. 

“If you’ve known Robb as long as I have, you’ve seen a lot of girls pass through. Actually, it’s more like seeing him pass by a lot of girls,” Dacey explained. “It’s exhausting.”

It clearly didn’t assuage Brienne very much, but she gamely offered, “Glad to help?” 

“Sorry,” Dacey said sincerely. “There’s just a lot of history there and honestly, it’s kind of a relief that I won’t end up having to hold your hand when Robb eventually did something to torpedo your relationship or got bored. Not that it would be your fault! It’s just how he is.”

She jabbed at the ice cream with a little more forcefulness than was probably warranted and Brienne withdrew her spoon in response. Dacey focused on taking several spoonfuls, eating them one after another, her movements gone mechanical the longer Brienne watched her without saying a word. 

Dacey knew the jig was up when Brienne kindly said, “Is there something _you_ want to talk about?”

Peering over at the younger woman - gods, she should have known Brienne would pick up a thing or two from Margaery - Dacey asked, “If I say no?”

“Then we can just keep eating ice cream,” Brienne said thoughtfully. 

Dacey set the spoon down instead and crossed her arms, pressing her spine against the padded seat back. It didn’t take very long for her to realize that maybe Brienne had picked up a few things from her, as well. Brienne waited patiently and Dacey finally sighed out, “So, I was stupid about a boy.”

It went in Brienne’s favor that she didn’t look pleased to hear it; she merely shoveled out a small mound of ice cream and nodded for Dacey to continue. 

“Robb, obviously,” Dacey cut straight to the point. “We’ve known each other since we were kids and I- I really wish I could say that I _didn’t_ follow him here to WU, but I can’t.”

“Ah,” Brienne mumbled out and Dacey wasn’t sure if she was sympathizing or had a brain freeze. 

“All of my sisters went into the service, I thought I would, too, but then I started looking at this place and thinking that if I came here, maybe…” Dacey trailed off and shut her eyes, embarrassed for her childish cluelessness. “We’ve never, I mean he’s never… we’ve always been friends. Just friends.”

“Never?” Brienne asked.

Dacey shook her head. “You have to understand, I was such a tomboy in high school, completely rough and tumble. I was so good at sports that they put me on the boys’ teams and that’s how I spent so much time with Robb and Jon. I’ve always been one of the guys to them and that was fine, it’s how I wanted things back then. By the time I wanted things to be different… there really wasn’t any changing what was set in stone.”

“But you’re so…” Brienne gestured up and down at Dacey, not saying it aloud, but making it clear she could see how Dacey made more of an effort these days: well fitting, flattering clothes, understated makeup, and her hair up in a glossy, bouncy ponytail. 

“That’s all Theta,” Dacy said with a slanted smile. “I joined and they let me be myself, but also showed me what I could do differently when I asked. And I like it, I like _me_ like this.”

Brienne certainly looked sympathetic now. “But Robb didn’t?”

“We got here and less than two days into orientation, he had his first college girlfriend,” Dacey said wryly. “A pretty Dire Beta scooped him up before anyone else could get their bearings and he’s been on a roll ever since.”

“That’s…” Brienne puffed her cheeks out and blew out the air rather than say anything more.

“Yep,” Dacey agreed. She lifted her spoon again and attacked the ice cream with less ferocity than before. “Don’t feel sorry for me, though. It made it so that I decided to become a Thorn instead. I made a bunch of other friends and I’ve dated other people. I had a serious boyfriend last year, but we weren’t ready for something long distance once he graduated. It’s not as if I’m still waiting around for Robb to see me, that’s not… I know better than that.”

She didn’t appreciate Brienne’s doubtful glance, but Dacey couldn’t be annoyed with her. If she were hearing this story for the first time, she’d think it was a lie, as well. 

“It’s just a…” Dacey looked around the room, searching for the words. “It’s just a ‘what if’ in the back of my head, you know? What if I told him years ago? What if I’d followed my sisters instead? And no matter how many times I think I’ve gotten rid of it, that I’m free of it, he’s very… _Robb_ and I remember.”

Brienne nodded in understanding. “It wasn’t nearly as long, but I know what you mean. No matter what I did, how much I tried to ignore it, I couldn’t forget Jaime.”

“Not the same thing,” Dacey said ruefully. “Jaime’s a complete dumbass over you, he has been for a while. Robb’s just a dumbass.”

Brienne chuckled and Dacey joined her. 

They both jockeyed for the last bit of ice cream that wasn’t a puddle at the bottom of the carton and Dacey teased, “Plus, for all that Robb does, he’s not nearly as high-maintenance as I suspect Jaime is. All I can say is best of luck, that guy is going to be a handful.”

“Oh, gods, he really is,” Brienne said faintly, and Dacey used her horrified distraction as an opportunity to get the last bite. 

“Anyway, so now you know my most closely guarded secret. Very tragic, totally gut wrenching, whatever.” Dacey shrugged it off as best she could; it wasn’t as if there was anything else she could do about it aside from waiting for graduation to send them in separate directions. “Yours has a much better ending.”

It was late and both of them should probably head to bed, but the way Brienne’s expression moved from mild alarm to fondness as she obviously thought of Jaime had Dacey heading to the freezer for another carton. She plopped back down into the chair, peeled it open and said, “All right then, tell me about this boy you like.”

Brienne’s face lit up and Dacey knew that even if they stayed up late into the night, she wouldn’t be sorry at all for it in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've long considered Days 191 to 202 as The Big Week (I know it's not actually seven days, in length or in chapter number, but just go with me on this) and with this chapter, it's wrapped up! We'll now return to our ill-scheduled, scattered Rush programming.


	40. Day 390

Day 390

Jaime had very large feet.

The thought fluttered by, dropping that piece of useless knowledge on Brienne’s lap, bringing to mind that she’d been staring at them for the last several seconds. 

She blinked and turned back to her flashcards, refocusing on the slew of paintings they’d be expected to identify on sight for their next quiz. Jaime’s finagling in getting them a shared class had paid off quite well, giving them an excuse to study together, such that here they were, sitting on her bedroom floor with the door closed to ‘reduce distractions’ if anyone asked. Jaime wasted no time getting comfortable, which included chucking off his shoes. 

It wasn’t that his _feet_ were by any measure interesting, Brienne explained to herself when she looked at them again. Not any more interesting than anyone else’s and the gods knew she’d seen plenty more of Jaime - but there was something oddly delicate about the high arch of his foot, a sharp contrast to her own wider, flatter soles. She could compare them easily, both sets of their legs stretched out next to each other, Jaime’s pinky toe occasionally bumping against her own. 

Her nails were painted a deep lavender, thanks to a spa evening with the pledges. Part of her suspected it would look better on him.

Shaking her head free of the thought, Brienne tried to study her cards again, committing herself to recognizing artists, their movements and media-

He also had large _hands_.

It was no fault of hers that she was distracted by them. Jaime very deliberately lifted the edge of the textbook page, gliding his hand from right to left, then settled his thumb and fingers on the margin of the newly revealed page, tapping on it to an unknown beat. A light-catching sheen on his forefinger told her where he’d likely wet it against the tip of his tongue to gain purchase on the slick paper. 

Jaime insisted that the scars weren’t nearly as bad as they once were, but even as they stood, they didn’t detract from the elegance of his hands. Long fingers that tapered into short, neat nails, a dusting of golden hair that started just behind his knuckles and ran up his arms, as her eyes did, watching his tendons flex in time with the tapping and then his muscles shifted smoothly under his skin as he mindlessly rotated his wrist. 

Brienne chanced a glance at Jaime's face, noting that he seemed intent on the text before him, oblivious to how he’d entirely diverted her attention. She tried to keep her face forward, but her eyes skewed toward him, observing every little tic: a periodic foot wiggle that went still when he set it flat against the floor when he bent his knee, the motion pulling and tightening the fabric of his jeans against his thigh, the inadvertent rucking up of his shirt when he scratched at his left shoulder from the opposite side, revealing a stripe of skin at his waist that she knew well from close, personal examination. 

He was so _warm_.

Shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh - they could have sat anywhere in the room, but Jaime had tugged her down to take the spot at his side on the soft carpet. It’d been a long time since Brienne questioned what in the hells he saw in her, trusting instead that he wouldn’t say anything he didn’t mean, not when it came to them, but…

It still surprised her, sometimes. How handsome he was. How looking at him made her heart thrum like crazy and threw her insides into chaos. 

Brienne turned her head completely toward him, catching Jaime’s curiosity at last and he gave her a quick glance, his bright eyes crinkling at the edges, and a swift, untroubled smile: a flash of teeth behind intimately familiar lips, lightly stubbled cheeks creasing with dimples, the almost severe angle of his jaw under her hand as she angled in and pressed her lips against the nearest edge. 

Her hand finished the job, bringing Jaime’s mouth close enough so that Brienne was kissing him as much as she could to quell the growing hunger inside of her. It only tossed fuel on the flame, not that she objected, nor did Jaime, judging by the sound of his textbook being flung aside and the way he twisted to meet her after a brief hum of confusion. 

It passed in a blur, they were sitting and then Brienne was flush against him, her chest warming and thumping against his and then _they_ were thumping down to the ground, Jaime’s back hitting it in a fashion Brienne would try to apologize for if she remembered later. Her hands pushed up his shirt and he was doing the same for hers, then their hands went lower, hurried, unsnapping and shoving and neither of them seemed all that interested in parting enough to speak. 

Brienne tried to catch her breath, finding it easier to do so when she unclenched her teeth, her effort to keep quiet leaving a deep indentation in her lower lip. She’d pulled up and away enough to drop her face on Jaime’s sternum, her head moving in time to his rapid, panting breath as he, too, recovered. 

They’d be dead to rights if anyone opened the door. There wasn’t a single proper explanation as to why Jaime was flat on the floor, his jeans down around his calves, with Brienne braced above him, only one leg encased her own pants - the answer was fairly obvious. 

“Can you- I just,” - Jaime let out a long, satisfied sigh - “whatever I did, could you let me know what it was? Because I’ll definitely do it again.”

Brienne chuckled against his sweat damp skin and replied, “You were just you.”

Jaime laughed disbelievingly, but craned his head down to kiss the crown of her head. “Good to know, I’m pretty good at that.”


	41. Day 43

Day 43

He could have gone anywhere on the property, but once Jaime overheard one of the Sigma pledges complaining about being outmaneuvered by _that giant sorority chick_ in the kitchen, his legs decided where they wanted to head next.

When the same pledge saw Jaime passing and gave him a hopeful look, Jaime lifted his sharpie in the air. Then he merely clicked the marker open and shut, gave the guy a serene smile and kept walking, pleased at how the younger man’s face fell. 

There was a pair of voices coming from the dilapidated kitchen, a conversation taking place between loud slams and the sound of splintering wood. Demolition day at the rehab project was always fun for the guys in his house, but one of the voices was distinctly female. Distinctly Brienne.

Jaime peered around the doorway, not calling attention to himself just yet. Inside, amidst the rubble of half-rotten cabinetry, Brienne was asking Pod, “Really? Not at all?”

Pod shrugged and aimed his sledgehammer at a half-destroyed counter top. “Not that I’ve seen. I mean, guys drink, but there hasn’t been a huge push for it or anything. Mostly we just chill and goof off.”

She answered by bringing up her own hammer - one half a size bigger than Pod’s, not that she seemed to notice, she slung it as if it weighed half as much - and arcing it in a smooth motion to bring down a cabinet that had looked otherwise firmly attached to the wall. 

It was an especially fortuitous thing that it was warm enough that she was standing there in only a tank top and jeans. Jaime found himself reconsidering in those scant seconds what exactly he’d found so enticing in others in the past and reorienting it _completely_ as he watched her muscles shift and bunch and release through the movement. 

When the Habitat people suggested they’d discover something new about themselves through hard labor, they probably hadn’t meant it in quite the fashion Jaime was experiencing. 

“How about the Thorns?” Pod asked. 

“Uh… good. It’s good,” Brienne said, sounding cautious, yet happy. 

“Cool,” Pod replied. “It’s awesome we get to do stuff together, I like hanging out with all of you.”

Brienne turned slightly, her profile revealing a small smile. “Yeah, it’s been fun.”

“We must not be working you hard enough if you’re having fun,” Jaime interjected, sauntering in as casually as possible. The way Brienne’s smile wavered in response irked him more than he’d like. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Pod stood at attention upon seeing him and bleated, “Ser Vice-President!” He only relaxed when Jaime gave a halfhearted wave. Brienne bestowed a narrow look upon them both.

Jaime peered at them in return, trying to convey it as nothing but a thoughtless perusal. Perhaps he was only seeing what he wished to, but there didn’t seem to be anything more between Pod and Brienne than friendly conversation. 

Good.

“You need safety glasses if you’re staying,” Brienne said succinctly. 

Between Jaime and Brienne? Not so much. 

“Concerned about my safety, Pledge Tarth? You’re all heart.”

“Sure, let’s call it that,” Brienne replied. But she reached over to a box of equipment and tossed a pair of glasses at him. “Stand back.”

“Glad to,” Jaime said with a wide grin as he caught them. Brienne gave him a squinty-eyed look but resumed hammering away, much to Jaime’s gratification. 

She and Pod kept taking turns, Jaime peppering in random instructions that Pod tried to follow and Brienne summarily ignored. It likely would have gone on for ages more - until Jaime got bored or Brienne kicked him out, the latter far more likely - if Jaime hadn’t gotten a glimpse at Pod’s bicep during one especially energetic attempt at the counter.

“Pledge Payne,” Jaime barked out and they froze. He drew nearer and shoved up Pod’s sleeve to confirm what he’d seen. “Who did this?”

“Uhh, I think Lancel?” Pod asked carefully. 

Jaime glowered at the sight of the crudely drawn, vaguely phallic outline. “It’s supposed to be check marks only, Pledge Payne, when you have done something to earn our approval.”

Brienne furiously muttered something under her breath, but Pod looked desperately worried. “I swear, I didn’t do any-”

“I know,” Jaime cut him off. “It’s Lancel being an asshole, I’ll deal with him. Unfortunately, I’ve only got mine.”

He pulled out his own silver sharpie from his pocket, annoyed that Bronn had claimed the gold, the most presidential thing he’d done in weeks, and considered what to do next. Luckily, he caught sight of Willem passing by the doorway and shouted after him. “Willem, your sharpie! Now!”

His fellow Sigma didn’t question it, only backtracked and tossed the black marker in his direction. Jaime caught it one handed, without looking, and thought Brienne should at least look a _little_ impressed by the feat, but then focused on covering Lancel’s handiwork. The resulting heart was large and lopsided, but it completely masked what had been there before. 

Jaime finished off by adding three silver checks underneath and advising Pod, “Don’t let this happen again, okay?”

“I’m really sorry,” Pod began. 

Jaime stopped him and elaborated, “Don’t let them push you around. You have a problem with them, you come to me, got it?”

“Yes, Ser Vice-President.” 

It made him itch a bit to be on the receiving end of Pod’s grateful relief, so Jaime shrugged and said, “All right, get back to it.” Then he turned toward Brienne who was watching the whole scene with an inscrutable look on her face. “Unless you want one, too? You’ve been putting in excellent work.”

“Tempting,” she said dryly, devotedly unimpressed. 

Even so, Jaime gave in to the impulse and snagged her free hand to put a tiny silver check in the curve between her thumb and index finger. Her hand was warm and solid in his and he felt the edge of a callus under his fingers and _wow_ was he learning a whole hell of a lot about what really worked for him. 

He dropped her hand as if it burned him and gave her another bright grin. “Well, these walls won’t come down on their own! Back to work, underlings.”

Brienne looked at her mark and then back at him, her eyebrows quirking in response, her large blue eyes shifting from suspicion to confusion and Jaime escaped before he did something truly stupid, like tell her if that he put a mark for everything he was realizing that he liked about her, they’d be there all damn day.


	42. Day 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Back from an unintentionally long hiatus due to Yuletide and the Chill exchange, but let’s see if we can get this story done once and for all!

Day 77

The bonfire arrangement was nearly complete, with the last of the stragglers entering the remote clearing with a pile of lumber in their arms. Robb watched, pleased, when Samwell Tarly made it through with the last of it. His face was red from the exertion and he bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath once he unloaded it and Robb walked over to give him a hearty slap on the back. 

“Knew you could do it, buddy,” Robb told him.

“Thanks,” Sam replied, slightly high pitched and wheezy. 

“Take a sec and then go join everyone else. Once the sun goes down, we’ll light this beauty up and get the ceremony started!” 

Robb made his way to where Jon was rifling through a pile of cloaks and wolf pelts, a strong odor of mothballs coming free as he did so. Making a sour face at Robb’s approach, Jon suggested, “Maybe someone should have sent these to the dry cleaners first?”

“I’d like to see the look on their faces if we showed up with any of this,” Robb remarked. “Too much of a risk anyway - I’d hate to lose years of Dire history if any of them got ruined.”

“You know, traditions can be updated,” Jon said. “It won’t hurt anything.”

“Tell that to any of those who come before us,” Robb said. “Besides, I know what this is really about.”

Jon looked pained. “Do I really have to lead the howl?”

“It’s the duty of the VP, as always.” Robb grinned at his cousin’s groan. “And an honor! I did it last year, Dad did it when way back when, his dad before him-”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Jon said halfheartedly. “Woooo.”

###### 

Sansa stood stock still as the number of golden-edged orchids dwindled down. Cersei plucked them out, one by one, with a flourish and a smile that had started serene and grew sharper as a restless energy spread in the room. There were three flowers left with more than twice as many hopeful pledges waiting, all of them dressed in their absolute best as to fit the code Cersei demanded upon. 

“Taena Merryweather!” Cersei announced grandly, pulling free an orchid and inviting Taena up with an imperious tilt of her head. Taena didn’t look as if she was worried that she’d been made to wait, and she followed as everyone else who had come before her, curtseying before Cersei. 

It took untold effort to keep Sansa from yelling out _you don’t want this, no one in their right mind should want this, not even you_ , as Taena passed by. Sansa didn’t like her one bit - if there was a mini Cersei in the making, Taena was it - but Sansa gave Taena a polite nod as she joined the Kappa ranks and swore to herself that it wouldn’t change anything. She’d fight for Taena just as she did anyone else-

_No!_ The word flew through her mind and it took biting down on her lips to keep it from escaping her mouth when Cersei next called out for Lollys Stokeworth. 

It shouldn’t have happened. Sansa had very specifically marked down a **No** for Lollys in their anonymous voting, her last ditch effort to keep the sweet girl out of Cersei’s clutches. _Of course_ , Sansa thought bitterly, _of course Cersei disregarded the votes._

She should have known better. Wasn’t that being a Kappa all over, though?

The rejected pledges - for that’s what they were and it dawned on them as Cersei handed out the last orchid - did their level best to keep from crying, but Sansa saw a sea of watery eyes and wobbling chins and couldn’t help but feel relief for them, even if they would never see it for themselves. 

“Ladies, this way,” Cersei said as she stepped off the dais that had kept her elevated above everyone else. She’d already forgotten everyone left behind, or so Sansa thought as Cersei waved for the newest Kappa members to step into the next room for the luxurious dinner set out in their honor. 

As she passed Sansa, however, Cersei muttered under her breath, “Try to get them out of here without hysterics, would you?”

Fury burned through her, but Sansa kept her face perfectly composed as she answered, “Yes, Madame President.”

###### 

“So, uh, yeah, congrats.” Bronn clapped his hands together, startling the assortment of young men in the living room. “You’re in.”

The pledges all looked at one another in confusion and Jaime, who Bronn caught sight of leaning against the opposite wall, dropped his forehead into his hand. 

“Well, I’m not going to hand out hugs or slap your asses, if that’s what you’re waiting for,” Bronn went on when no one else moved. “I asked for a paddle, but _someone_ said I wasn’t allowed.”

Jaime came towards him and stuffed an index card into Bronn’s grasp. His VP muttered, “Can you at least try to pretend to give a shit about this?”

“I _don’t_ give a shit about this,” Bronn replied. “Why in the hells have we been allowing them to hang out around here if we’re not going to keep ‘em?”

“Just read the fucking chant,” Jaime sighed. “It’s tradition.”

“Fuckin’ tradition, who’s ready for a… godsdamnit, fine,” Bronn said when Jaime gave him a contemptuous look. He raised the card to eye level and told the crowd, “I guess repeat after me, if you want, I don’t give a-”

“You know what, just let me do it,” Jaime interrupted and took it back. 

“Should’ve let me have a paddle,” Bronn said with a smirk. Jaime answered with an elbow in his side and started off the chant.

Stubborn bastard didn’t even need to use the card.

###### 

“Meera, welcome to Theta Rho Nu,” Dacey said softly. She handed Meera’s personally made crown to Margaery, who reverently placed it in the large wooden box between them. A floral scent wafted up as the old crowns at the bottom gave under the weight of the new. 

Dacey once tried to vaguely describe the ceremony to her Mormont sisters, erring on the side of secrecy, and they’d been utterly unimpressed by the idea of something that amounted to potpourri. They had no way of knowing what it all meant, how _much_ it meant, and the scent made Dacey smile. 

Moving over, Dacey stood before their last pledge and began again. “I, Dacey Mormont, of Theta Rho Nu, hereby extend an invitation to you, Brienne Tarth, to join our sisterhood. Do you accept?”

“I do,” Brienne answered in a hushed tone.

“Please remove your crown.”

Brienne reached up to take it off, fretfully turning it in her hands. Dacey studied it as she had everyone else’s and a pang of… not disappointment, but perhaps regret ran through her that it was the simplest of the lot. She turned her gaze to meet Brienne’s and waited for the younger woman to look back at her.

It took a few moments and it was only when Brienne did that Dacey went on. They were the same ceremonial words used with every pledge, but Dacey held her eyes and put every ounce of earnestness she could into them, so Brienne could understand that they were meant for her just the same. 

“By removing what has come before, you are proclaiming your loyalty to our house. We do not forget our pasts, but build anew with the sisters that came before and those who stand with us now.”

“I understand,” came Brienne’s expected agreement. 

“A Theta is loyal, just and kind. A Theta does not go alone in this world. A Theta will always have her sisters beside her, both in act and in spirit. Do you swear this to be true?”

Brienne solemnly nodded. “I do.”

“Good,” Dacey whispered, breaking from her speech when she saw how Brienne’s eyes shined with wonder as she answered. She took the last crown of lush, pale blue roses from Margaery’s hands - the very best from Highgarden - and set it on Brienne’s head. “Take this crown and know that you are among sisters, both now and forevermore.”

The younger woman’s hitching breath struck Dacey straight in her heart and she broke from ceremony once again to place her hand on Brienne’s shoulder, leaning into whisper, “You deserve to be here, same as anyone else. I’m glad you are.”

She drifted back to see Brienne mouth a _thank you_ and finished as she was meant to all along.

“Brienne, welcome to Theta Rho Nu.”


	43. Day 212

Day 212

At first it was unclear what woke her up and Brienne blinked hazily at the ceiling. There was rain pattering against the window, but the room was so dim that it had to be after sunset. The only source of light was a cool blue hue coming from slightly behind her and she twisted in place on the bed to find Jaime sitting at his computer, a look of intense concentration on his face as he typed. 

Her movement distracted him and he broke away from his work, a smile sliding free. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Brienne replied. She tried to covertly check for any drool at the corners of her mouth, relieved to find none, and then rubbed at her eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Thought so, but seemed like you needed it,” Jaime said. He bounced up from his chair and Brienne scooted closer to the wall, anticipating that he would sit alongside her. He did, but only long enough to silently motion for Brienne to move a little more and then he stretched out to face her. 

“I did, but I need to get back on a regular schedule.” That was true enough, their entire break had been a hodgepodge of late night movie marathons and two am trips to the all night diner in town, sometimes just the two of them, more often with the few people who’d stayed behind, too. 

“So disciplined,” Jaime teased her. He propped himself up on one hand and reached out the other to run it down her arm and around her waist. “We’ve still got a couple more days.”

“People are starting to get back already.” Brienne nearly lost her train of thought when Jaime leaned in and kissed the side of her neck. She tried her best to keep hold of the words even as she tilted her head to give him more space to maneuver and Jaime chuckled against her skin. “We- you… we need to get back to normal.”

“‘Normal’ can suck it,” Jaime mumbled and then emphasized his point by clamping his mouth on the curve of her shoulder and Brienne reluctantly pushed him away before he left a mark. 

“Jaime.”

“Gods, that sounds amazing.”

Brienne laughed under her breath. “I just said your name.”

“Still amazing. It’s the _way_ you say it.”

She didn’t ask him what he meant, because she knew. Brienne felt the same when he said her name, the little thrill that ran through her when he said it warmly, fondly, eagerly, breathlessly. Any and all ways of it. It unhinged her enough to let him press her back into the mattress and they passed the next several minutes - hours, days, who knew - trading kisses, curling around one another and giggling when their fumbling about took them right against the wall and then to the very edge of the bed. 

Jaime’s hand drifted over her chest, inadvertently pulling up her shirt; the chilled sweep of air on her sides made Brienne realize that her own palms had found the bare skin of his back. Surprise made her jerk away, leaving Jaime looking down in puzzlement. 

“All right?” he asked, shifting as he spoke and bringing to awareness how he fit in the cradle of her hips. 

Brienne wiggled, uncertainty lessening her amusement at the way Jaime’s eyes almost crossed, but then he managed to see past that and hastily moved off. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“No, it’s okay, just… a little much,” she finished awkwardly. 

“I mean, I’m not trying to-”

“I know, it’s fine-”

“We don’t have to-”

“-it’s really fine.”

They ended up lying side by side, the bed barely wide enough for both their broad spans. Brienne flicked a glance at Jaime and found him staring at the ceiling. There was the faintest flush on his cheeks, barely anything in comparison to hers, but the sudden burst of tenderness in her chest outweighed her embarrassment and she moved to press a quick kiss to his warm cheek. 

Jaime sighed in obvious relief and wriggled his arm under to wrap around her shoulders. 

“Not yet,” Brienne said slowly. 

Only his eyes moved to look at her. “Yet?”

“Yet,” Brienne confirmed. But because she wasn’t ready to say anything more than that, she asked, “What were you working on? When I woke up, I mean.”

Jaime hummed in question, looked at his computer and back to her. “Oh. Yeah, you don’t want to hear about that.”

“Sure I do.”

“Okay, how about: I don’t want to tell you.”

Brienne lifted up enough to give him a skeptical look and Jaime groaned. 

“Ugh, fine… I might have… you know… not worked on a paper the last couple of weeks that’s due on Monday.” He said the last several words in a hurry, not that Brienne missed them. 

“Jaime!”

“It’s almost done! It’s got a bit of a beginning and the end. It’s just the middle part that’s a little… not there,” Jaime said. 

He clenched her more tightly when she groaned, assuring that she couldn’t vault herself off the bed to look for herself. 

“Seriously, it’s not that big a deal,” Jaime protested.

“I am not going to be the reason you get a failing grade,” Brienne retorted. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed to work on it?”

“First of all, I won’t fail,” Jaime said, lifting a finger with his free hand. With another, he added, “Second, even if I did, it wouldn’t be your fault. Third” - he motioned three raised fingers over how they were spread out - “I think the time I had was _very_ well spent.”

Brienne blushed to the roots of her hair, making Jaime cackle and he nuzzled her cheek. 

Though she was amused, it wasn’t enough to set her off course this time. “It can’t be like this once school starts up. We have to focus.”

It didn’t cross her mind as she said it; Jaime’s suddenly darkened expression tipped her off. More so did his grumbled, “Going to have to try a little harder this time.”

He didn’t mean studies and schoolwork, Brienne was certain of it. She pressed her fingers to his cheek to nudge his face in her direction. When Jaime met her gaze, Brienne promised, “I’m not giving you up again.”

They hadn’t talked about it since the day on the porch. They should have, Brienne knew, but it was so much easier to pretend that things were uncomplicated, that Sansa and Cersei would have no bearing on things once they returned. 

But they would.

Despite the relief on Jaime’s face - stronger than ever before - Brienne asked, “What are we going to do?”

Jaime closed his eyes and turned his face back toward the ceiling. A few moments passed where she thought he might try to ignore the question, that she might let him, but then he answered, “It’s so fucked up, Brienne.”

“I know.”

He ran his hand over his face and opened his eyes. “I need you to ask Sansa a favor for me.”

“I can try,” she said back. Sansa’s near-two-week silence made it difficult to judge what their next interaction would be like. “What is it?”

He let out a gusty sigh. “Whatever they’re planning, whatever they are going to do- can they just… let me talk to my sister again.”

Brienne’s eyebrows drew together. “How do you mean?”

“More like, let me try to get through to her,” Jaime said quickly. “I don’t know if it’ll work, if she’ll listen, but I’ve got to give it a shot.”

“Are you going to tell her about-” 

“No! No,” Jaime repeated, twisting so that they were facing each other again. “She’s done some fucked up shit, but I need to try. Just… it might take a while.”

“How long is a while?”

His answer was a restless shrug. 

“I’ll ask,” Brienne relented. “I can’t promise anything, though. Sansa’s still…”

“Yeah, I know,” Jaime said with a scowl, the first sign that he’d noted her fruitless hopes for a message from her friend. 

“I don’t… I don’t want to shove this - you and me - in her face,” Brienne said haltingly. “I don’t want to lose what we have, but I don’t think that would help anything.”

Mouth firmed into a line, Jaime nodded. 

“So I need to figure out how to say it,” Brienne added. 

“You and me both,” Jaime agreed. He fiddled with her fingers, looking down at them as he said, “Fair warning, but Cersei’s always hated anyone I went out with. Probably should have paid more attention to that.”

Brienne bit down on her lips as Robb’s similar statement echoed through her head. “Oh?”

He winced. “Yeah. Definitely should have paid attention.”

“What she does isn’t your fault,” Brienne insisted. Jaime’s fingers tightened on hers. “How bad did she get?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” he asked with a humorless laugh. “Who the hell fucking knows anymore?”

Considering this in silence, it took a long while before Brienne could gather up the nerve to suggest, “Maybe we should keep this to ourselves, then.”

Jaime gave her a questioning look. 

“Sansa will see that nothing has changed and it would give you time to talk to Cersei,” she continued. “Maybe if we didn’t call attention to ourselves, that would make this less difficult.”

She could see he didn’t like the thought of it, but also that he understood the soundness of the idea at the same time. There was a moment where she _saw_ it, saw Jaime decide to roll with it and he asked, “So we’re going to sneak around? Covert calls at midnight? Pass each other notes in the hall?”

“Or you could text me,” Brienne said dryly. 

“Ah, texting - great idea.”

“We see each other all the time anyway,” Brienne said. “Nobody will question why we’re at each other’s houses. It’s only for out there, we won’t be so obvious about it.”

Jaime wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in. “Maybe I want to be obvious about it.”

“I do, too,” Brienne said fondly. She kissed him again, briefly, to keep from falling into another Jaime spiral. “Just for a little while.”

“I can sneak around for a little while,” Jaime admitted. “Be kind of fun, slipping in and out, like ninjas through the window.”

Brienne snorted and looked back at the rain splattered glass behind her. “Listen very closely: I am _never_ sneaking out your window.”


	44. Day -8

**[Unknown Number]** : has bronn talked to you yet

**Dacey** : Sorry, who is this?

**[Unknown Number]** : you get a new phone?

**Dacey** : No. 

**[Unknown Number]** : …

**[Unknown Number]** : …

**[Unknown Number]** : cant figure out if your messi g with me or not

**Dacey** : …

**[Unknown Number]** : its jaime

**Dacey** : Okay. 

**Dacey** : Lannister? 

**[Unknown Number]** :…

**[Unknown Number]** : yeah

**Dacey** : Okay. 

**Dacey** : Did you need something?

**Jaime** : you srsly didnt have my number?

**Dacey** : No, I didn’t. What’s going on? 

**Jaime** : do you have bronns

**Dacey** : Probably, if he was on the leadership call list. 

**Jaime** : so am i 

**Dacey** : All right. 

**Jaime** : did he text you 

**Dacey** : No. 

**Jaime** : ofc he didnt

**Dacey** : …

**Jaime** : he should 

**Jaime** : not me

**Dacey** : Okay. 

**Dacey** : Have a good one. 

**Jaime** : wait no hold on

**Dacey** : …

**Dacey** : I swear to the gods of you don’t get to the point, I’m blocking your number, Jaime. 

**Dacey** : *if

**Jaime** : we were thinking maybe sigma and the thorns could join up this year

**Jaime** : told him to ask you before anyone else

**Dacey** : I see. 

**Jaime** : if you arent interested its fine

**Jaime** : bronn said he was gonna ask

**Dacey** : He hasn’t as of yet. And I hadn’t considered it with anyone so far. We haven’t had a brother frat in ages. 

**Jaime** : yeah I kno

**Jaime** : last year kinda sucked

**Jaime** : bbqs without sorority sisters are one big sausage fest if you get me 

**Dacey** : I, very unfortunately, do. 

**Jaime** : wanna do better this year 

**Dacey** : I’ll discuss it with Margaery. 

**Jaime** : aweskme

**Jaime Lannister has invited Margaery Tyrell to the conversation!**

**Margaery** : Hey, what’s up

**Dacey** : I meant later, Jaime. Privately. 

**Jaime** : hey margaery 

**Margaery** : Hi Jaime 

**Jaime** : tHANK YOU 

**Margaery** : 🧐

**Margaery** : Weird vibe but whatever 

**Dacey** : The Sigmas have a proposition for us. 

**Margaery** : Do they? 

**Dacey** : How would you feel about having them as a brother fraternity this year? 

**Jaime** : think it might be fun

**Margaery** : Is that a question or a statement?

**Jaime** : either or

**Dacey** : Theta is technically coed. There aren’t any brothers currently, but this oncoming rush could change things. 

**Margaery** : If you’re thinking Loras, that’s a no go

**Margaery** : He’s been obsessed with Bar Ep since he met Renly during his campus tour last semester

**Jaime** : ugh

**Dacey** : That’s a shame. 

**Jaime** : thought tyrells had better taste than that

**Dacey** : Regardless, we could get other interested parties. 

**Margaery** : Truuuuuuth

**Margaery** : he’s not a bad guy but my baby bro could do SO much better

**Jaime** : maybe itll pass. 

**Margaery** : *fingers crossed*

**Jaime** : tell him he can hang out with sigmas if we join houses

**Jaime** : our guys use way less hair gel 

**Jaime** : might ban axe if we have a repeat of last year

**Margaery** : *gag*

**Jaime** : so thats something 

**Jaime** : but then hell see ME and you run the risk of him wanting to go sigma instead

**Margaery** : Ever modest, Jaime

**Jaime** : cant help the truth 

**Dacey** : ?

**Dacey** : Before we go completely off the rails...

**Jaime** : oh yeah

**Jaime** : bronn wont care and neither do i, bros are bros

**Dacey** : I should mention it anyway, to get everything out on the table. I don’t want to start a discussion if that’s going to be an obstacle. 

**Jaime** : fine geeez

**Jaime Lannister has invited Bronn Blackwater to the conversation!**

**Dacey** : oh good gods

**Bronn** : what

**Jaime** : hey bronn if there are dudes in theta this year do you care

**Margaery** : Hello Bronn 

**Bronn** : who’s that 

**Margaery** : 😒

**Dacey** : I’m getting a headache. This does not bode well. 

**Jaime** : youre getting overwhelmed by the amazing possibilities 

**Dacey** : That is patently untrue. 

**Bronn** : taht dacey? 

**Dacey** : Yes. 

**Margaery** : And Margaery

**Bronn** : hey

**Jaime** : you said you were gonna ask about pairing up 

**Bronn** : thought it was u

**Jaime** : not the president bronn

**Jaime** : you are

**Bronn** : … 

**Bronn** : fine ffs 

**Bronn** : ladies, u down?

**Dacey** : I’m considering it. I’m waiting for Margaery’s take on it. 

**Dacey** : Also, we always run the chance of getting male pledges. 

**Bronn** : like the pixies?

**Bronn** : cool

**Dacey** : …

**Dacey** : All right, then. 

**Margaery** : I admit I’m intrigued

**Margaery** : I’d assumed the Lans would realign

**Jaime** : no

**Bronn** : fuck no

**Dacey** : I see. 

**Margaery** : That was decisive

**Bronn** : shit show last time

**Bronn** : u make me wear a suit and I’m out

**Jaime** : saw cerseis schedule

**Jaime** : its a LOT

**Dacey** : …

**Dacey** : …

**Margaery** : Dacey? Allow me

**Margaery** : Gentlemen. 

**Bronn** : awshit 

**Jaime** : ????

**Margaery** : Theta Rho Nu does not need a brother fraternity, we can go without just fine. We can go without especially if the offer we get is given with the backhanded suggestion of ‘You are not as high maintenance as our former sister house’

**Jaime** : hey now

**Margaery** : I will gracefully allow that it was unintentional, but you are on thin ice

**Margaery** : Care to try again? 

**Bronn** : …

**Jaime** : Bronn no

**Bronn** : …

**Jaime** : ok

**Jaime** : it was unintentional

**Jaime** : Yeah Kappa has a lot of fancy stuff going on and that’s not really our thing but we aren’t asking as a last resort. You guys have always been super chill and that’s what we are looking for. 

**Bronn** : what he said

**Jaime** : No offense meant. 

**Dacey** : Thank you. 

**Margaery** : Thank you

**Jaime** : But admit you’d enjoy getting one up over my sister. 

**Margaery** : that’s not *not* an appeal in this situation

**Jaime** : called it

**Dacey** : Email me suggestions on what community services you’re doing this year. Margaery and I will discuss it - privately - and get back to you before the semester starts. 

**Jaime** : thats all we ask

**Bronn** : …

**Jaime** : bronn no

**Bronn** : fine

**Dacey** : Jaime? 

**Jaime** : yeah

**Dacey** : We’ll be in touch.


End file.
